Drug development challenges in polycythemia vera

Polycythemia Vera Management and Challenges in the Community Health Setting.

Patients with polycythemia vera (PV) experience shortened survival, increased risk of thromboembolic and hemorrhagic events, and burdensome symptoms. For all patients with PV, treatment with aspirin and hematocrit control with phlebotomy are recommended. In addition, patients with high-risk status or poor hematocrit control benefit from cytoreductive therapy with hydroxyurea, although approxima...

Muramidase in polycythemia vera.

Erythropoietin receptors in polycythemia vera.

The role of erythropoietin (EP) in polycythemia vera (PV) is controversial, with some experiments suggesting that erythroid progenitors in PV are exquisitely sensitive to EP and EP dependent, and others suggesting that PV progenitors are EP independent. We have examined the characteristics of the EP receptor (EP-R) on erythroid colony-forming cells (ECFC) from patients with PV. In contrast to n...

Treatment of polycythemia vera.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Current guidelines for the management of patients with polycythemia vera (PV) derive from a few clinical trials and several uncontrolled clinical studies. The purpose of this paper is to critically review the available evidence in literature for selecting the best treatment in the single patient. METHODS The authors have been working in this field contributing origina...

Pathogenesis of polycythemia vera.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Polycythemia vera (PV) is an acquired clonal myeloproliferative disorder characterized by increased production of mature red cells. We still lack a molecular target responsible for this disorder; however, recent investigations have focused on a number of molecules involved in signal transduction pathways mediated by erythropoietin (Epo) and other growth factors. Here we...