Active clinical trials for "Anemia"

The purpose of this study is to determine the safety of darbepoetin alfa beyond 16 weeks of treatment in subjects with anemia of cancer who are not receiving chemotherapy.

Patients with sickle cell disease have abnormal hemoglobin (the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to the body). This abnormality causes red blood cells to take on a sickle shape, producing disease symptoms. Fetal hemoglobin, a type of hemoglobin present in fetuses and babies, can prevent red cells from sickling. The drug hydroxyurea increases fetal hemoglobin production in patients with sickle cell disease by making a molecule called nitric oxide. The drugs L-arginine and Sildenafil (Viagra) increase the amount or the effect of nitric oxide. This study will evaluate: The safety of giving L-arginine or Sildenafil together with hydroxyurea in patients with sickle cell disease; The effectiveness of L-arginine plus hydroxyurea or Sildenafil plus hydroxyurea in increasing fetal hemoglobin in patients with sickle cell disease; and The effectiveness of L-arginine plus hydroxyurea or Sildenafil and hydroxyurea in lowering blood pressure in the lungs of patients with sickle cell disease. (Pulmonary blood pressure is elevated in about one-third of patients with sickle cell disease, and this condition increases the risk of dying from the disease.) Patients with hemoglobin S-only, S-beta-thalassemia, or other sickle cell disease genotype may be eligible for this study. Before starting treatment, patients will have a complete medical history and physical examination. All patients will take hydroxyurea once a day every day by mouth for at least 2 months. They will be admitted to the NIH Clinical Center to take their first dose of hydroxyurea, and will have blood drawn through a catheter (plastic tube placed in a vein) every hour for 6 hours for tests to determine nitric oxide levels. After discharge, they will return to the clinic once every 2 weeks to check for treatment side effects and for blood tests to monitor hemoglobin and fetal hemoglobin levels. After fetal hemoglobin levels have been stable for 2 months, patients will be admitted to the Clinical Center for their first dose of L-arginine (for men) or Sildenafil (for women). Again, blood samples will be collected through a catheter once an hour for 6 hours. If there are no complications, patients will be discharged and will continue taking hydroxyurea once a day and L-arginine or Sildenafil three times a day for at least 3 months until fetal hemoglobin levels have been stable for at least 2 months. Patients will return to the clinic for blood tests every week for 2 weeks and then every 2 weeks to monitor hemoglobin and fetal hemoglobin levels and to check for treatment side effects. Patients will have eye examinations before and during treatment. Some patients with sickle cell disease develop abnormalities in the blood vessels of the eye. Also, Sildenafil can cause temporary changes in color vision. Rarely, more serious eye problems can occur, such as bleeding from the eye blood vessels or damage to the retina a layer of tissue that lines the back of the eye. Patients will also have an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) before beginning treatment, after hydroxyurea treatment, and after 1 and 3 months of combined treatment with hydroxyurea and L-arginine or Sildenafil to help measure blood pressure in the lungs. Patients who develop complications from L-arginine or Sildenafil may continue in the study on hydroxyurea alone. Patients whose fetal hemoglobin levels increase with the combination therapy of hydroxyurea and L-arginine or Sildenafil may continue to take them.

OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the effectiveness of moderate dose cyclophosphamide and total lymphoid radiotherapy in terms of improving the survival and reducing the morbidity following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in patients with Fanconi's aplastic anemia.

Phase I/II trial to study the effectiveness of liposomal daunorubicin and SU5416 in treating patients who have hematologic cancer that has not responded to initial therapy. Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. SU5416 may stop the growth of hematologic cancer by stopping blood flow to the cancer

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether weight-based or fixed starting doses result in comparable hemoglobin increases and treatment effects in patients with heart failure and anemia.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Umbilical cord blood transplantation may be able to replace cells destroyed by chemotherapy. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy followed by umbilical cord blood transplantation in treating patients who have hematologic cancer or severe aplastic anemia.

Aim: To evaluate if additional cord blood transfusion could accelerate the hematopoietic reconstitution in severe aplastic anemia(SAA) patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy (IST). Study design: open-labed, prospective, multicenter, randomized control study Number of subjects: 60 each group Treatment: IST group: ATG (Thymoglobuline®, Genzyme) 3.5mg/kg/d×5d plus oral cyclosporine A (CSA) Cord blood transfusion group: In addition to the same dose and course of ATG and CSA , one unit of cord blood having no more than 2 HLA-A, B or DRB1 mismatches is transfused 24h after last dose of ATG administration.

Phase III, multicenter, randomized, double-blinded, prospective study with two parallel treatment groups. Patients who present to the hematologist/oncologist and satisfy all inclusion and exclusion criteria will be eligible for participation in this 18-week study.

The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a difference in outcomes between liberal transfusion (transfusing when hemoglobin drops below a set higher value number) and conservative transfusion (transfusing when hemoglobin drops below a set lower value number).

Preoperative anaemia is common in surgery, with a prevalence between 10 and 50 %, and is an independent risk factor for morbidity and mortality. Anaemia is mostly the result of an inadequate erythropoiesis due to iron deficiency, lack of vitamin B12 or folate, and bone marrow diseases. Among the elderly, renal disease and chronic inflammation account for approximately one-third of all anaemia incidences. The aim of this study is to provide detailed data about the prevalence of preoperative deficiencies in iron, vitamin B12 and/or folate and the presence of underlying renal or chronic diseases in patients undergoing major surgery.