SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT OF THE ANEMIA OF RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS WITH SUBCUTANEOUSLY ADMINISTERED RECOMBINANT-HUMAN-ERYTHROPOIETIN - SLOWER RESPONSE IN PATIENTS WITH MORE SEVERE INFLAMMATION

We performed a 24-week open clinical study in which 12 patients with r heumatoid arthritis (RA) and anemia (mean hemoglobin (Hb) value 102 g/ l, range 90-109 g/1) were treated with recombinant human erythropoieti n (rHuEPO). rHuEPO was given as a subcutaneous injection twice weekly with an initial dose of 300 U/kg/week. Nine of the 11 patients who com pleted the study responded with an increase in Hb value of 15 g/l or m ore within 3 to 17 weeks. Three months after treatment the Hb levels w ere significantly lower than the highest Hb levels (p < 0.0001). There was an inverse correlation between the response rate and the mean ser um concentrations of C-reactive protein and serum amyloid A protein (p < 0.001 and p < 0.003, respectively). We conclude that rHuEPO can cor rect anemia in patients with RA, but the response seems to be adversel y influenced by the inflammatory activity of the disease.