Hyperparathyroidism and anemia in uremic subjects: a combined therapeutic approach

Several factors are involved in conditioning renal anemia, and a critical role is attributed to parathyroid hormone (PTH) oversecretion, which has some direct effects on endogenous erythropoietin (EPO) synthesis, bone marrow erythroid progenitors, and red cell survival. Indirect effects are mainly based on the induction of bone marrow fibrosis. Indirect evidence of the role of PTH is based on the observation that parathyroidectomy, when performed in uremic patients, is often followed by restoration of the hematocrit. The interpretations of such positive results are based on the observation of the restored bone marrow space after operation and also in a rise of immunoreactive EPO serum concentrations observed in the first weeks after gland removal. Another field of clinical interest is the possible beneficial effects of vitamin D therapy in controlling PTH secretion, which in turn determines an improvement of anemia of uremic subjects. Several uncontrolled studies confirmed this possibility, indicating that patients who respond to calcitriol or its analogs also show an increase of their hemoglobin levels. Thus, a combined therapeutic approach to PTH oversecretion and anemia is possible by intravenous calcitriol or parathyroidectomy pointing to the possible reversibility of bone marrow fibrosis, which is a common feature of secondary hyperparathyroidism. The increased sensitivity to EPO therapy can also induce a successful reduction of its dosage, thus allowing an interesting reduction of costs.