Treatment of anaemia with human recombinant erythropoietin (r-Hu EPO) substantially improves the quality of life of patients receiving regular dialysis treatment. The positive effect on the nutritional state of patients during r-Hu EPO treatment is not accepted unequivocally so far. The authors followed-up 9 patients (6 men and 3 women) who had regular dialysis treatment, and suffered from severe anaemia. The patients were treated for 12 months with r-Hu EPO (preparation Eprex Cilagd Co.) with an initial dose of 30 mu/kg 3x per week by s.c. route with a target haemoglobin (Hb) value of 90-100 g/l. Before treatment during the 6th and 12th month of treatment the basic nutritional parameters of the patients were followed up. In the course of the investigation the Hb level (x +/- SD) increased from 61 +/- 12 g/l to 98 +/- 8 g/l, p < 0.01. On comparison of the nutritional parameters before treatment and after 12 months of treatment with r-Hu EPO the authors recorded rising trends in the patients' body weight (kg) from 67.4 +/- 12.2 to 68.4 +/- 11.2 (n.s.), an increase of the skinfold thickness above the triceps brachii muscle (mm) from 8.6 +/- 5.8 to 9.8 +/- 4.3 (n.s.), a decline of skin reactivity to diphtheric antigen (mm) from 2.1 +/- 2.8 to 1.8 +/- 0.8 (n.s.), a rising trend of reactivity to Candida antigen (mm) from 2.9 +/- 2.2 to 3.9 +/- 2.4 (n.s.), to diphtheric antigen from 3.0 +/- 3.3 to 5.1 +/- 3.8 (n.s.), a rise of the transferrin level (g/l) from 2.5 +/- 0.3 to 2.8 +/- 1.3 (n.s.), a rise of serum urea (mmol/l) from 25.7 +/- 3.6 to 32.5 +/- 9.5 (n.s.), a rise of Mullen's nutritional index from 21.8 +/- 15.5 to 22.3 +/- 24.7 (n.s.).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Keywords: Adult; Anemia /blood/; Erythropoietin /therapeutic use/; Female; Hemoglobins /analysis/; Humans; Kidney Failure, Chronic /therapy/; Male; Middle Aged; Nutritional Status; Recombinant Proteins /therapeutic use/; Renal Dialysis /adverse effects/