UCLA Study Challenges Long-Held Hypothesis that Iron Promotes Atherosclerosis
Wednesday, December 18, 2013 - 11:48
in Health & Medicine
A UCLA research team has found no evidence of an association between iron levels in the body and the risk of atherosclerosis, the hardening and narrowing of the arteries that leads to cardiovascular disease, the No. 1 killer in the U.S. The discovery, based on a comprehensive study in a mouse model of atherosclerosis, contradicts a long-held hypothesis about the role of iron in the disease and carries important implications for patients with chronic kidney disease or anemia related to inflammatory disorders, many of whom receive high-dose iron supplementation therapy.