Chronic liver diseases and iron: a concise review with emphasis on hypotransferrinemia and hypohepcidinemia

Abstract

Iron studies in chronic liver diseases (CLDs) have a long history. Currently we can mention certainties, uncertainties, and hopes related to this topic. It is certain that iron metabolism problems and hepatic siderosis are frequent in CLDs and they get more frequent as CLD progresses, but true iron overload is rare. There are conflicting literature data on the mechanism of siderosis, the role of iron in CLD pathogenesis, and the potential benefits of iron removal. We may hope that pharmacological approaches targeting iron metabolism disorders of CLD will be actively evaluated in the future. In this review, we aimed to present a general outlook of this extensively studied topic.