These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Treating anemia associated with chronic renal failure with erythropoiesis stimulators: recombinant human erythropoietin might be the best among the available choices.
    Author: Trkulja V.
    Journal: Med Hypotheses; 2012 Jan; 78(1):157-61. PubMed ID: 22078846.
    Abstract:
    Chronic renal failure (CRF) is a widespread medical problem commonly accompanied by a hypoproliferative anemia ("renal anemia") due to erythropoietin deficiency. Anemia greatly contributes to reduced quality of life (Hr-QoL) and high morbidity and mortality in CRF patients. Recombinant human erythropoietin (rHu-Epo) was introduced to medical practice some 20years ago. It enables correction of anemia (hemoglobin levels, Hb) with dramatic immediate (Hr-QoL improvement) and long-term effects (reduced morbidity and mortality). Newer experimental data suggest that long-term benefits could be due not only to antianemic effect, but also to a direct organoprotective effect of (rHu)-Epo mediated through a receptor complex different from the "erythropoietic" erythropoietin receptor. During the last decade, two alternative treatments for renal anemia have been approved: darbepoetin and CERA. Both are direct agonists of the "erythropoietic" receptors and both were derived from rHu-Epo. Molecularly, they differ from rHu-Epo in that they are much larger molecules (darbepoetin is genetically modified rHu-Epo with a higher sugar content and CERA is pegylated rHu-Epo) with lower affinity for the erythropoietin receptor but with a longer circulating time. In terms of renal anemia correction, they are non-inferior to rHu-Epo and allow for less frequent dosing. They have never been compared to rHu-Epo regarding the long-term outcomes. It is hypothesized that regarding the long-term outcomes (morbidity, mortality), rHu-Epo might be superior to those larger molecules. The hypothesis is based on two types of observations. First, experimental data emphasize the role of small, erythropoietically less valuable rHu-Epo isoforms in its organoprotective effects. Second, clinical observations suggest that rHu-Epo enables for less variable Hb correction than the larger molecules, and pronounced within-subject Hb variability has been suggested as an independent predictor of poor long-term outcomes of renal anemia management.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]