Lack of effect of vitamin E therapy on the anemia of patients receiving hemodialysis.
We conducted a prospective, randomized, double-blind therapeutic trial of vitamin E as an erythropoietic agent in a group of patients with chronic renal failure who were undergoing chronic hemodialysis. Sixteen patients received 400 IU of vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate) by mouth twice daily and 19 patients received a placebo twice daily for 20 wk. The serum vitamin E concentration increased from 1.3 to 2.6 mg/dl in the treated group and decreased from 1.3 to 1.1 in the placebo group. For the treated group the initial hematocrit was 24.8 +/- 3.0 (mean +/- SD) and the final hematocrit was 25.8 +/- 3.8. For the placebo group the initial hematocrit was 24.9 +/- 3.0 and the final hematocrit was 23.5 +/- 2.7. The treated group received a total of 40 blood transfusions, and the placebo group received a total of 35 blood transfusions. Thus, vitamin E had no effect on the anemia or transfusion requirements of patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis for chronic renal failure.
D000740:Anemia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004905:Erythrocyte Aging; D004920:Erythropoiesis / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011897:Random Allocation; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D014810:Vitamin E