Anaemia is a common complication of renal failure [1]; its appropriate management is an important aspect of dialysis patient care [2]. Due to developments in anaemia management over the past 20 years, average haemoglobin levels have risen steadily and transfusion needs declined [1]. The concern about what constitutes appropriate anaemia management has increased due to results from clinical tria...

1. Haemoglobin production was measured for two populations of Daphnia putex, one from a temporary pond (GR Pond) and one from a permanent pond (Rash Pond). Surface water in Rash Pond remains high in oxygen, while by late summer very Uttle oxygen remains in GR Pond. Haemoglobin synthesis was induced in the laboratory by artificial oxygen deficiency. 2. Reproductive state influenced the level of ...

The relationship between blood requirement and the mean level of maintained haemoglobin was examined in 392 patients with homozygous beta-thalassaemia. Pre- and post-transfusional haemoglobin levels and the amounts of blood transfused were measured during a 1-year period. No significant differences were noted in the blood requirements of patients (splenectomised or not) irrespective of the haem...

Total blood haemoglobin concentration is increasingly being used to assess physiological condition in wild birds, although it has not been explicitly recognized how reliably this parameter reflects different components of individual quality. Thus, I reviewed over 120 published studies linking variation in haemoglobin concentrations to different measures of condition and other phenotypic or ecol...

A family study is reported in which all three siblings were shown to be doubly heterozygous for haemoglobin D Los Angeles and beta thalassaemia, which resulted in a complete suppression of haemoglobin A synthesis. This demonstrates the effects of genetic interaction which occur when the genes for haemoglobin D Los Angeles and beta thalassaemia are both transmitted to the offspring. The importan...

In 1866 Korber found chemical differences between haemoglobin obtained from human placental blood and that from normal adult blood. Since then it has been clearly demonstrated that there are many important differences between human and animal and between foetal and adult haemoglobins (Kroger, 1888; Bischoff and Schulte, 1926; Haurowitz, 1930, 1935; Trought, 1932; Brinkman, Wildschut and Witterm...

BACKGROUND Although originally described in dialysis patients treated with recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO), haemoglobin variability has recently also been noted to be increased in patients who have chronic kidney disease (CKD) without dialysis. In our country, pre-dialysis CKD patients generally would not receive rHuEPO treatment. We studied the degree of haemoglobin variability and i...

Under normal conditions, only 20-30% of the delivered oxygen is metabolised. In normovolaemic anaemia, the organism reacts with increases in cardiac output and oxygen extraction. Once these mechanisms are exceeded, allogeneic blood transfusions may be administered. However, such transfusions are associated with serious adverse effects and alternatives such as artificial oxygen carriers are bein...