JEDDAH — As kidney failure progresses into anemia in 90 percent of cases, reducing anemia symptoms and treating them was one of the major topics discussed at the Third Annual Nephrology Conference that concluded at the Jeddah Hilton Hotel yesterday.
The kidney fails when it ceases to produce the erythropoietin hormone that is responsible for stimulating red blood cell production.
Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator (CERA) is a new anemia treatment for kidney failure cases that will be soon launched in the Kingdom, according to Dr. Iain Macdougall, a consultant nephrologist at King’s College Hospital in London.
The doctor was invited to the conference by the chairman of the scientific committee to lecture on the clinical trials therapies for anemia in chronic kidney failure cases.
“I did a lot of clinical trials on anemia therapy and during the conference I had a discussion on a comparison of the agent still available and those that have been used since the first time we had anemia therapy 20 years ago,” Macdougall said.
One of the methods used previously for treating anemia in kidney failure patients was regular blood transfusion to raise the hemoglobin level in the body. “This method is dangerous as there is a possibility of catching contagious diseases, such as hepatitis C and AIDS,” said Dr. Abdulkareem Al-Suwaidan, consultant nephrologist at King Khaled University Hospital in Riyadh.
CERA is a long acting agent that offers kidney failure patients more flexibility in having the treatment monthly instead of two or three times a week. The drug works as a substitute for erythropoietin hormone that the body needs for producing red blood cells.
Constant fatigue, less ability to exercise, lack of concentration and insomnia are all symptoms of anemia. As chronic kidney diseases progress patients get more anemic as they lose the erythropoietin hormone and they need a substitute for what they are losing.
“In a sense it is more like diabetic patients injecting themselves with insulin they lose. This treatment is for life unless they get a kidney transplant. These days transplanted kidney last for 20 years if the patient is lucky. However, transplanted kidneys fail eventually and the patient has to go for dialyses again and then become anemic requiring therapy,” Macdougall said.
Unlike regular insulin shots for diabetics, anemia therapy used to be three injections a week. But with the new long-acting drug, it is now once-a-month injection.
