Hepcidin and β-thalassemia major.

In this issue of Blood, Pasricha et al evaluated serum hepcidin and its putative pathological suppressor growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) in patients with β-thalassemia major before and after transfusion, in the context of erythropoietic activity and iron loading. The study offers insight into dynamic regulation of hepcidin in this disease, reinforces the likely contribution of hepcidin to iron loading between transfusions, and highlights the potential clinical utility of hepcidin measurements in the management of patients with β-thalassemia major.