Kato Y, Takagi C, Tanaka J, Masaki Y, Furuya H
Department of Medicine, Shimane Medical University, Izumo.
Intern Med. 1994 Apr;33(4):193-7. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.33.193.
Mean (+/- SD) serum erythropoietin (EPO) levels were 18.6 +/- 5.6 mU/ml in 180 normal Japanese subjects. Serum EPO levels were elevated with a negative correlation on a log scale (r = -0.864, P < 0.005) to hematocrit (Ht) values in anemic patients not associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or chronic renal failure (CRF). Serum EPO levels in patients with RA (31.6 +/- 16.4 mU/ml) were relatively lower than those in normal subjects and anemic patients without RA or CRF when matched for comparative Ht values. Seven anemic patients with RA were treated by daily subcutaneous (sc) injection of recombinant EPO (rEPO, 500-1,000 U/day) for 4 weeks. The patients had initial Ht values of 25.1% or less and maintained stable clinical status. The treatment with rEPO raised serum EPO levels (53.8 +/- 15.2 mU/ml, P < 0.05), which resulted in an increase in Ht values (more than 3%) in 6 out of 7 patients with RA. The mean (+/- SD) Ht values at the end of the treatment with rEPO (500-1,000 U/day) were greater than those before the treatment in the 7 patients with RA (28.5 +/- 4.6 vs. 22.7 +/- 2.5%, P < 0.05). These findings suggest that chronic anemia associated with RA may be corrected by daily sc injection of a small dose of rEPO.
180名正常日本受试者的血清促红细胞生成素（EPO）平均水平（±标准差）为18.6±5.6 mU/ml。在与类风湿关节炎（RA）或慢性肾衰竭（CRF）无关的贫血患者中，血清EPO水平升高，与血细胞比容（Ht）值呈对数尺度的负相关（r = -0.864，P < 0.005）。当匹配比较Ht值时，RA患者的血清EPO水平（31.6±16.4 mU/ml）相对低于正常受试者和无RA或CRF的贫血患者。7名RA贫血患者每天皮下注射重组EPO（rEPO，500 - 1000 U/天），持续4周。这些患者的初始Ht值为25.1%或更低，并保持稳定的临床状态。rEPO治疗使血清EPO水平升高（53.8±15.2 mU/ml，P < 0.05），导致7名RA患者中有6名的Ht值增加（超过3%）。在7名RA患者中，rEPO（5百-1000 U/天）治疗结束时的平均（±标准差）Ht值高于治疗前（28.5±4.6 vs. 22.7±2.5%，P < 0.05）。这些发现表明，每日皮下注射小剂量rEPO可能纠正与RA相关的慢性贫血。
