title: Clinical characteristics predict response to antithymocyte globulin in paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria.
abstract: Seven patients with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) were treated with antithymocyte globulin (ATG). Each patient received ATG (20 mg/kg/d) for 8 d and prednisone to prevent or control serum sickness. Three patients experienced a sustained improvement in at least one peripheral blood cytopenia, including one patient who had a complete trilineage response. Several pretreatment clinical features appeared to be associated with response to ATG. All responding patients had hypoproliferative features including depressed platelet counts (< 30 x 10(9)/l), and a minor degree of chronic haemolysis as indicated by relatively low reticulocyte counts (< 100 x 10(9)/l), lactate dehydrogenase (< 1000 U/l) and total bilirubin (< 17 mumol/l) levels. Responding patients continued to have chronic low-grade haemolysis after their response to immunosuppression that was similar to that observed prior to treatment. The non-responding patients had a classic haemolytic form of PNH characterized by elevated reticulocyte counts (> 100 x 10(9)/l), lactate dehydrogenase (> 2000 U/l) and total bilirubin (> 17 mumol/l) levels. The impaired haemopoiesis that occurs in hypoproliferative PNH may respond to ATG treatment, but the haemolytic component of the disease, and hence the PNH clone, is not altered by immunosuppressive therapy.
authors.affiliation: UCLA School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Paquette
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Veiseh
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kunkel
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gajewski
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Rosen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000740:Anemia / Q000209:etiology; D000961:Antilymphocyte Serum / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006457:Hemoglobinuria, Paroxysmal / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010198:Pancytopenia / Q000209:etiology; D010976:Platelet Count; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000209:etiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000961:Antilymphocyte Serum