Aluminium overload and response to recombinant human erythropoietin in patients under chronic haemodialysis.

In this work, of 51 patients treated by rHuEpo, 25 were selected for study. The selection criteria were absence of clinically evident causes of anaemia other than end-stage renal failure, such as chronic infection, active systemic disease, bleeding sites, and vitamin B12 or iron deficiencies. Serum aluminum was assessed before dialysis and the presence of aluminium overload was confirmed by a DFO test. rHuEpo was given in a dose of 50 U/kg body-weight after each dialysis session three times weekly and the response to treatment was evaluated monthly for 8 months. Our data showed significant correlation between serum aluminum and the response to rHuEpo. The response was significantly greater in those with lower serum aluminium. We conclude that the aluminium load in chronic haemodialysis patients may have an effect on the response to rHuEpo.