PROBLEM – REACTION - SOLUTION

Chronic diseases are often connected to anaemia.

There is a large number of chronics in various diseases with iron deficiency.

These are for instance Chronic kidney disease, Inflammatory bowel disease or Coronary heart disease patients and many others.

PROBLEM

Iron-deficient chronic primary therapy is normally oral iron in tablet form, which is non-heme iron where the iron is syntethically bound.

The main forms used are iron salts Ferrous sulphate and Ferrous fumarate, Amino acids chelates, Carbonyl iron and Polysaccharide-iron complexes.

PROBLEM

Non-heme iron needs to disintegrate in the stomach's acidic environment before the iron ions can be absorbed.

If there is a acid-lowering achlorhydria therapy going on such as Omeprazole, which is often the case, this won’t happen and no iron will be absorbed.

PROBLEM

Free iron ions are basically toxic for the organism, so after breaking down of non-heme iron there will be free iron ions in the stomach.

This gives the typical side-effects problems with oral iron. Absorption of non-heme iron is low, 2 – 4 %.

PROBLEM

Sooner or later the oral non-heme therapy will give increasing side-effects, so that the therapy must be discontinued.

If serious and chronic iron deficiency is present for any reason, it must be treated, or life-threatening anemia will occur.

REACTION

The only remaining therapy alternative is IV-, or intravenous iron.

This is administered in daily more or less painful injections.

REACTION

Intravenous or IV-iron, however, also has drawbacks.

There is a risk for allergic reactions and the main risk is oxidative stress, since this is not a natural way to absorb iron.

It is also very expensive.

REACTION

As opposed to non-heme iron, natural hemoglobin is absorbed as a whole unit,

Heme iron supplementation works well over longer time.

Efficacy, tolerance or uptake will not change over time and there are very few side-effects.

SOLUTION

Dosage of heme iron tablets once per day is very user-friendly.

Heme iron dosage does not need medical assistance, thus freeing the patient to for instance travel.

SOLUTION

Uptake of heme iron is 15 – 25 %, which is several times that of oral non-heme.

In studies side-effects are at placebo-level.

Heme iron is reasonably priced.

SOLUTION

Swedish company FerroCare/MediTec has a strong commitment to reach

people suffering from iron deficiency, but have problems with

existing supplements.

• OptiFer® tablets are based on natural bovine heme iron and will safely and efficiently keep iron counts at an optimal level.

www.ferrocare.se www.hemeiron.com