Vitamin B5 could help improve red blood cell production in people with myelodysplastic syndromes (Pantothenic acid)

Medical Xpress / The Francis Crick Institute / Science Translational Medicine ^ | March 1, 2023 | Syed Mian et al

[ConservativeMind]

Scientists have uncovered why patients with a rare type of blood cancer suffer from ineffective red blood cell production, and how vitamin B5 could be combined with existing drugs to improve outcomes.

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a type of blood cancer characterized by a stem cell disorder where the production of healthy red blood cells goes wrong. There are no curative treatments for these patients, but some medications do help to slow the progression of the disease.

People with this disease often go on to develop acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and around half of people become resistant to existing treatments for MDS within 18 months to two years of treatment. These patients are heavily reliant on red blood cell transfusions which can be painful and dangerous due to iron overload in the blood. This means it is important to uncover new ways to treat this disease and prevent the progression to leukemia.

The scientists analyzed blood samples from 42 people with MDS. They found that the enzyme COASY is critical in regulating red blood cell production in the bone marrow. Partial loss of the enzyme in MDS patients severely disrupts red blood cell production leading to anemia.

They then tested whether they could boost red blood cell production using treatments including vitamin B5 supplementation. Treatments with vitamin B5 or another metabolite, succinyl-CoA, increased the maturation of red blood cells.

"Anemia-related symptoms, such as chronic fatigue, are commonly reported in MDS and the current red blood cell transfusions, although essential, come with potential complications, and also require substantial human and financial resources. Therefore, it's essential that we find alternative ways to regulate long term red blood cell production in the in these patients. Our results may also potentially help with treatments of other diseases where patients commonly present with anemia."

[ConservativeMind]

Vitamin B5 is Pantothenic acid and it is one half of the Pantethine molecule, as well.

[ConservativeMind]

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