How does short-term low-dose simvastatin influence serum prohepcidin levels in patients with end-stage renal disease? A pilot study.

Anemia is a common clinical problem in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Despite adequate erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) supplementation, some ESRD patients still have suboptimal hemoglobin levels, and iron deficiency and inflammation are recognized as the two most common causes. Hepcidin, a newly discovered key regulator of iron homeostasis, is found to be accumulated in ESRD.