Does erythropoietin slow Photoreceptor Cell Death in a Mouse Model of Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa?
Systemic EPO-R76E slows death of the photoreceptors and vision loss in hP23H RHO+/-,mRHO+/+ mice. Treatment with EPO-R76E may widen the therapeutic window for retinal degeneration patients by increasing the number of viable cells. Future studies might investigate if co-treatment with EPO-R76E and gene replacement therapy is more effective than gene replacement therapy alone.
Iron chelation therapy appears to improve survival in heavily transfused lower risk MDS, but prospective randomized studies are required to confirm our findings, and to determine more precisely the mechanisms of this potential survival benefit.