A new iron free treatment with oral fish cartilage polysaccharide for iron deficiency chronic anemia in inflammatory bowel diseases:A pilot study

摘要

AIM:To investigate the effect of a new oral preparation,highly concentrated in fish cartilage,in a group of inflammatory bowel diseases(IBD)patients with chronic iron deficient anemia.METHODS:In an open label pilot study,we supple-mented a group of 25 patients(11 with Crohn's disease and 14 with ulcerative colitis)in stable clinical conditions and chronic anemia with a food supplement which does not contain iron but contains a standardized fraction of fish cartilage glycosaminoglycans and a mixture of antioxidants(Captafer Medestea,Turin,Italy).Patients received 500 mg,twice a day during meals,for at least 4 mo.Patients were suggested to maintain their alimentary habit.At time 0 and after 2 and 4 mo,emocrome,sideremia and ferritin were examined.Paired data were analyzed with Student's t test.RESULTS:Three patients relapsed during the study(2 in the 3rd mo,1 in the 4th mo),two patients were lost to follow up and two patients dropped out(1 for orticaria,1 for gastric burning).Of the remaining 18 patients,levels of serum iron started to rapidly increase within the 2nd mo of treatment,P < 0.05),whereas serum ferritin and hemoglobin needed a longer period to significantly improve their serum levels(mo 4)P < 0.05.The product was safe,easy to administer and well tolerated by patients.CONCLUSION:These data suggest a potential new treatment for IBD patients with iron deficiency chronic anemia and warrant further larger controlled studies.