Anemia and Kidney Disease
A diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, Dr. Shivinder Jolly treats patients at three hospitals in Ontario, Canada. He also serves as medical director at Clinical Research Solutions, Inc., in Kitchener, Ontario. As the principal investigator of numerous clinical trials, Dr. Shivinder Jolly has tested the efficacy of medications in treating a wide range of kidney-related conditions, including anemia. Anemia is characterized by an inadequate number of healthy red blood cells. One of the roles of red blood cells is to deliver oxygen to organs and tissues in all parts of the body. Without sufficient oxygenation, the body’s organs and tissues do not function optimally. People with anemia may experience fatigue and lack of energy, and become winded with little exertion. Other symptoms of anemia include paleness, poor sleep, low appetite, depression, and foggy thinking. Although anemia can have many different causes, people with kidney disease are especially vulnerable to the condition. This is because diseased kidneys do not make enough erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that triggers red blood cell production in the bone marrow. Anemia can begin in the early phases of kidney disease and progressively worsen with loss of kidney function. Almost every patient has anemia at the end stage of kidney disease, when dialysis is necessary. Anemia in kidney patients is usually treated with EPO administered via injection or IV. The hormone helps to stimulate the production of red blood cells. As iron helps in the production of red blood cells, many patients are also given oral iron supplements or injections. The ultimate goal of anemia treatment is to help kidney patients attain a hemoglobin level of 10 to 12 grams per deciliter.