Med News Today

Anemia drug may damage heart

A medical study to be released today suggests that high doses of a best-selling drug used to treat anemia in dialysis and cancer patients may increase the risk of heart problems and deaths.

Almost a million Americans a year receive prescriptions for the drug, known as epoetin, or darbepoetin, a closely related drug also used in anemia treatment. Worldwide, sales of the two drugs — sold under the brand names Epogen, Procrit and Aranesp — topped $9 billion last year for Amgen and Johnson & Johnson, their makers.

Researchers for the study, to be published in The New England Journal of Medicine, divided anemic patients with kidney disease into two groups. One group received epoetin with a goal of almost fully correcting their anemia, a lack of red blood cells associated with fatigue and shortness of breath.

The others were allowed to remain more anemic and generally received less epoetin. Patients in the first group were 34 percent more likely to die or suffer heart problems than those in the second.

Dr. Ajay Singh, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and the study’s lead author, said the results were surprising and should encourage doctors to treat anemia less aggressively.

posted by nattietodd @ 1:59 PM