Chemotherapy-induced anemia is common in patients who have cancer. Erythropoiesis-stimulating proteins such as epoetin alfa (Procrit) and darbepoetin alfa (Aranesp) have been shown to improve hematologic and clinical outcomes in these patients. Darbepoetin alfa has a longer serum half-life than epoetin alfa, making less frequent administration possible and offering the possibility of synchroniz...

Background Recombinant human erythropoietin, such as epoetin alfa and darbepoetin alfa, is an important therapy for anemia due to chronic renal failure. Allergy to recombinant human erythropoietin and the need for desensitization are rare. Case presentation We report here a novel epoetin alfa outpatient desensitization protocol in a girl who developed delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity to sub...

Erythropoiesis stimulating agents are widely used for the treatment of anemia. Recently, we reported erythroid expansion with impaired B lymphopoiesis and loss of trabecular bone in C57BL/6 mice following ten days of treatment with low-dose short acting recombinant human erythropoietin. We have assessed erythropoietin against longer-acting darbepoietin-alfa at a comparable erythroid stimulatory...

BACKGROUND Gonadotrophins are routinely administered in assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment protocols. Recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone (r-hFSH; follitropin alfa) and recombinant human luteinizing hormone (r-hLH; lutropin alfa) can be administered individually or in a fixed combination. The ability to vary the FSH to LH dose ratio in a single injection without comprom...

Background—More strokes were observed in the Trial to Reduce Cardiovascular Events With Aranesp Therapy (TREAT) among patients assigned to darbepoetin alfa. We sought to identify baseline characteristics and postrandomization factors that might explain this association. Methods and Results—A multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify baseline predictors of stroke in 4038 patien...

We here identify a protein (AlfA; actin like filament) that defines a new family of actins that are only distantly related to MreB and ParM. AlfA is required for segregation of Bacillus subtilis plasmid pBET131 (a mini pLS32-derivative) during growth and sporulation. A 3-kb DNA fragment encoding alfA and a downstream gene (alfB) is necessary and sufficient for plasmid stability. AlfA-GFP assemb...

BACKGROUND Anemia in patients with cancer causes fatigue, weakness, and impaired concentration, negatively impacting quality of life (QOL). In clinical trials involving patients with cancer who had varied characteristics, it has been shown that epoetin alfa treatment increased hemoglobin levels and improved QOL. A systematic review and metaanalysis of data from those trials was conducted to sum...

BACKGROUND The different efficacy of subcutaneous and intravenous rHuEPO results in higher doses and costs in intravenously treated patients. Darbepoetin alfa has a different pharmacokinetic profile compared to rHuEPO, and previous clinical experience suggests that subcutaneous and intravenous darbepoetin alfa may have similar efficacy. Objective. The aim of this study was to compare the effica...

Production of interferon alfa in vitro was significantly reduced during acute respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis but subsequently returned to normal. Nasopharyngeal and endotracheal interferon alfa were detected intermittently and in low concentrations. The degree of impairment of in vitro production and poor in vivo production of interferon alfa suggest the need for a therapeutic trial ...

OBJECTIVES To compare the efficacy and safety of poractant alfa and bovine lipid extract surfactant in preterm infants. STUDY DESIGN Randomized, partially-blinded, multicenter trial. Infants <32 weeks needing surfactant before 48 hours were randomly assigned to receive poractant alfa or bovine lipid extract surfactant. The primary outcome was being alive and extubated at 48 hours post-randomi...