Abstract
Therapeutic effects of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) in the treatment of anemia associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were evaluated by multi center cooperative trial.Thirty-nine patients with RA received rHuEPO intravenously at 200IU/kg once a week (Group 1) or 100IU/kg three time a week (Group 2) for 8 weeks.The mean value of hematocrit (Ht) was 25.7% in Group 1 and 27.4% in Group 2 before the treatment, and increased to 29.6% and 32.1% respectively after 8 weeks. The treatment resulted in significant improvement of Ht in both groups. rHuEPO was more effective in higher serum iron group (>29μg dl) and/or lower plasma EPO concentration group ( ≤ 30mIU/ml) in the base line.The effective improvement on anemia of “effective” or more was 50 and 65% in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. The global improvement of “improvement” or more was 32% in Group 1 and 55% in Group 2.Side effects included hypertension in 2 of the 39 patients, presumably as a result of the rapid rise of Ht value. There were no other findings to be marked.In conclusion, patients with RA showed excellent hemoglobin responses to rHuEPO, although a meaningful change in rheumatic manifestation was not seen.
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