Science / Medicine : Steroid Assists Anemia Treatment

The addition of the organ transplant medicine cyclosporine to two established drugs increases their effectiveness in treating severe anemia, German researchers said last week. But the cyclosporine treatment, detailed in the New England Journal of Medicine, neither worked in milder cases of aplastic anemia nor extended patients’ lives.

Aplastic anemia is a potentially fatal disease that occurs when the bone marrow stops producing blood cells. The best treatment is a bone marrow transplant from a brother or sister with compatible marrow. If a suitable donor is not available, doctors rely on drugs, which also suppress the immune system, such as antilymphocyte globulin or cyclosporine.

The study was a systematic attempt to see if the two drugs, with the addition of the steroid methylprednisolone, would help 43 patients not eligible for a marrow transplant. A control group of 41 patients received only antilymphocyte globulin and methylprednisolone.

After three months, the researchers discovered 65% of the patients on the triple-drug combination experienced at least a partial remission of the anemia. Only 39% of patients receiving the two drugs saw their disease diminish.