Perspectives on the improvement of quality of life with epoetin alfa therapy.

Epoetin alfa (recombinant human erythropoietin) effectively diminishes the anemia associated with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Although many clinical manifestations of ESRD have been attributed to uremic toxins, the ability of epoetin alfa therapy to improve several of these conditions, such as diminished energy levels, appetite, cold tolerance, sexual function, and cognitive abilities, suggests that anemia may be an important factor in uremia-associated symptoms. Correction of this anemia results in improvements in the patient's quality of life. These improvements can be measured by objective criteria such as exercise tolerance tests, or by subjective standards such as patient response to questionnaires. In studies to date, both subjective and objective data show that epoetin alfa therapy significantly improves the quality of life of patients with ESRD.