GRAPEVINE, Tex.—Higher levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25 (OH) D) may lower the risk of anemia and elevated C-reactive protein levels may raise the risk, according to new study findings that may explain much of the high prevalence of anemia among individuals with kidney disease, researchers conclude.

AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., has announced that the FDA has accepted for standard review its New Drug Application (NDA) for ferumoxytol as an IV treatment of iron deficiency anemia in CKD patients.

SAN FRANCISCO—Dialysis patients hospitalized for infection, GI bleeding, or a major surgical procedure may experience a significant decline in hematocrit (Hct) levels, researchers say. The decline increases with length of stay.

SAN FRANCISCO—Ferumoxytol, a novel IV iron replacement drug, may be more effective than oral iron in hemodialysis patients receiving anemia treatment with an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA), according to study findings presented here at Renal Week 2007.

ORLANDO—Patients receiving nocturnal hemodialysis may have lower erythropoietin (EPO) requirements than other dialysis patients, according to findings reported here at the 2008 Annual Dialysis Conference.

Hemodialysis patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) have a significantly decreased requirement for erythropoietin (EPO) compared with hemodialysis patients with no history of HCV infection, according to researchers.

Roche announced that the FDA has approved Mircera (methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta) for the treatment of anemia associated with CKD in adults, including dialysis patients and patients not on dialysis.

THE RISK OF DEATH for patients with dialysis-related anemia is increased when hemoglobin levels are persistently low, not necessarily when they fluctuate, according to a study recently published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (2007; published online ahead of print).

BARCELONA—A novel peptide-based erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) called Hematide safely raises hemoglobin levels in anemic CKD patients and maintains stable hemoglobin levels in hemodialysis patients who switch to the drug from epoetin alfa, data suggest.

ONLY ABOUT one in 10 CKD-related outpatient visits for anemia management in the United States result in a prescription for an anemia medication, data show.