Renal Anaemia - Glossary

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Glossary

Term	Definition
Affinity for the receptor	The degree of attraction between the receptor and its ligand.
Anaemia	A blood disorder characterized by either a deficiency in the number of circulating red blood cells or an abnormally low level of haemoglobin.
Biosimilar	A new biological medicinal product claimed to be “similar” to a reference medicinal product.
Bone marrow	The soft, modified connective tissue inside the bones which produces blood cells, including red blood cells.
Chronic hypoxaemic pulmonary disease	Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have impaired hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction, which might contribute to abnormal gas exchange and could be related to endothelial dysfunction in pulmonary arteries.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD)	Slow and progressive loss of kidney function over time, often resulting in permanent kidney failure.
CKD-related anaemia	This definition varies between consensus guidelines. It is defined by EBPG as Hb levels consistently below 11 g/dL (haematocrit <33%), where all other causes of anaemia have been excluded.
Complete blood count	A test that determines the number of white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, haemoglobin and haematocrit.
Correction therapy	The goal is to raise Hb levels to within target ranges with MIRCERA in patients with previously untreated CKD-related anaemia.
Creatinine	A bi-product derived primarily from metabolism of creatine. Creatinine is filtered from the blood by the kidneys and can be used as a diagnositic indicator of kidney function.
Dialysis	The use of a machine to provide artificial kidney function to filter the blood in patients with kidney failure.
Disordered growth signals	The abnormal expression of enzymes involved in the growth metabolic pathway.
End-stage renal disease (ESRD)	A condition in which kidney function is no longer adequate to sustain life – due to total and permanent kidney failure.
Epoetin	Recombinant human erythropoietin that is used in the treatment of renal anaemia.
Erythrocyte	See red blood cell.
Erythropoietin	A naturally occurring hormone produced by the kidneys, which stimulates the body to produce RBCs.
Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)	An equation that estimates the glomerular filtration rate of the kidneys by taking age, ethnic origin, gender and serum creatinine levels into account.
Ferritin	Is a protein that stores iron and is found in the liver, spleen and bone marrow.
Folate	Also known as vitamin B6 . A vitamin required for red blood cell production.
Glomerular filtration rate (GFR)	An important index of kidney function which describes the volume of water filtered out of the plasma by the nephron in the kidneys each minute.
Glomerulonephritis	A group of inflammatory diseases that cause damage to the nephrons.
Haemoglobin	An iron-containing respiratory pigment in red blood cells that transports oxygen from the lungs to the tissues of the body.
Haemoglobin variability	Repeated fluctuation of haemoglobin levels outside the target range.
Homeostasis	Metabolic equilibrium.
Hypertension	A disorder characterized by persistently elevated blood pressure.
Inhibitory concentration (IC50)	The concentration of a compound needed to reduce population growth of organisms, including eukaryotic cells, by 50% in vitro.
Kidney failure	Loss of kidney function. (See End-stage renal disease)
Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH)	A condition where the left ventricle of the heart becomes thickened which reduces the ability of the heart to pump blood efficiently.
Maintenance therapy	The goal is to maintain Hb levels within defined target ranges in patients converting directly to MIRCERA from another ESA.
Moderate to severe kidney dysfunction	Moderate to severe kidney dysfunction Defined according to the NKF/KDOQI guidelines: estimated as GFRs between 15 and 59 mL/min/1.73 m2.
Nephron	The functional unit of the kidney that removes waste and extra fluids from the blood.
PRCA	A condition in which RBC precursors in bone marrow are nearly absent, while megakaryocytes and white blood cell precursors are usually present at normal levels.
Pathological organ function	Organ dysfunction resulting from disease.
Platelet	A type of blood cell that promotes the formation of blood clots to prevent and stop bleeding.
Polycystic kidney disease	An inherited progressive disease characterized by formation of multiple cysts of varying size throughout both kidneys and resulting in destruction of the kidney tissue.
Pure red cell aplasia (PRCA)	A serious condition in which erythropoiesis almost completely ceases. A patient affected with PRCA experiences a decrease in haemoglobin level of about 0.1 g/dL per day and has a reticulocyte count less than 10,000/µL.
Red blood cell (erythrocyte)	A type of blood cell that transports oxygen to and from the tissues.
Red blood cell index	A test that provides information about the size, weight, and haemoglobin concentration of red blood cells. These tests are useful in diagnosing and classifying the different types of anaemia.
Renal anaemia	Anaemia caused by chronic kidney disease.
Reticulocyte count	A measure of the number of reticulocytes, or immature red blood cells in the circulation. This test provides information about red blood cell production and function of the bone marrow.
Titration period	The period during which patients were being directly converted from epoetin alfa, epoetin beta or darbapoetin alfa to MIRCERA.
Transferrin	A protein in blood plasma that transports iron within the body.
Tumour necrosis factor alfa	A pleiotropic cytokine with a broad range of diverse actions that include proliferative effects such as cell growth and differentiation, inflammatory effects, mediation of immune responses; and destructive cellular outcomes such as apoptotic and necrotic cell death mechanisms.
Vitamin B12	A vitamin occurring in meats and animal products that is required for red blood cell production.