Hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors stabilize levels of hypoxia-inducible factor that upregulate transcription of multiple genes associated with the response to hypoxia, including production of erythropoietin. We conducted two phase 2a studies to explore the relationship between the dose of the hypoxia-inducible factor-prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor GSK1278863 and hemoglobin response in patients with anemia of CKD (baseline hemoglobin 8.5-11.0 g/dl) not undergoing dialysis and not receiving recombinant human erythropoietin (nondialysis study) and in patients with anemia of CKD (baseline hemoglobin 9.5-12.0 g/dl) on hemodialysis and being treated with stable doses of recombinant human erythropoietin (hemodialysis study). Participants were randomized 1:1:1:1 to a once-daily oral dose of GSK1278863 (0.5 mg, 2 mg, or 5 mg) or control (placebo for the nondialysis study; continuing on recombinant human erythropoietin for the hemodialysis study) for 4 weeks, with a 2-week follow-up. In the nondialysis study, GSK1278863 produced dosedependent effects on hemoglobin, with the highest dose resulting in a mean increase of 1 g/dl at week 4. In the hemodialysis study, treatment with GSK1278863 in the 5-mg arm maintained mean hemoglobin concentrations after the switch from recombinant human erythropoietin, whereas mean hemoglobin decreased in the lower-dose arms. In both studies, the effects on hemoglobin occurred with elevations in endogenous erythropoietin within the range usually observed in the respective populations and markedly lower than those in the recombinant human erythropoietin control arm in the hemodialysis study, and without clinically significant elevations in plasma vascular endothelial growth factor concentrations. GSK1278863 was generally safe and well tolerated at the doses and duration studied. GSK1278863 may prove an effective alternative for managing anemia of CKD. 27: 123427: -124427: , 201627: . doi: 10.1681 Advanced CKD is frequently associated with anemia 1,2 and its pathogenesis is multifactorial, inclusive of a relative deficiency of erythropoietin (EPO) and impaired absorption and utilization of iron. 3 Current guidelines and recommendations for anemia management in CKD advise treatment with supplemental iron and recombinant human erythropoietins (rhEPOs) if appropriate. rhEPO therapy led to a correction of hemoglobin levels in the majority of dialysis patients 12 and a reduction in the need for red blood cell transfusions. 12 However, several large randomized trials of rhEPO have reported adverse cardiovascular outcomes. The Normal Hematocrit Study, which aimed to normalize hematocrit at 42% versus maintaining it at 30%, was terminated early because of concerns from the independent data monitoring committee around the higher all-cause mortality rate in the normal hematocrit arm compared with the low hematocrit arm, even though the prespecified termination criterion of an overall 5% significance was not met. The Correction of Hemoglobin and Outcomes in Renal Insufficien...

Background: Most studies of risk factors for alcohol-related problems have focused on biological family history as a primary risk factor. However, other factors, such as early-age heavy drinking, are also risk factors for sustained or progressive heavy consumption. Little is currently known about the mechanisms underlying binge or heavy drinking.Methods: This study examined the acute subjective and objective effects of ethanol in heavy drinkers versus light drinkers. Thirty-four subjects participated in this within-subjects study consisting of three early-evening testing sessions in which subjects consumed a beverage containing either 0.8 or 0.4 g/kg ethanol or placebo.Results: Compared with lighter drinkers, heavy drinkers were more sensitive to the positive stimulantlike effects of ethanol (p Ͻ 0.05), especially during the increasing limb of the blood alcohol curve. Heavy drinkers also showed less sedation and cortisol response after alcohol than the light drinkers (p Ͻ 0.05). Conclusions:The results indicate that young adult binge drinkers show a biphasic alcohol response, with heightened sensitivity to stimulant-like alcohol effects and greater tolerance to sedative alcohol effects compared with their light-drinking counterparts.Key Words: Alcohol Response, Heavy Drinker, Risk for Alcoholism, Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale, Cortisol. H EAVY ETHANOL DRINKING among young adultsis a serious problem in this country (Chou and Pickering, 1992), and the consequences of this excessive use, both financial and personal, are widespread. The cost of ethanol-related health care, loss of productivity, crime, and accidents totals more than $148 million annually in the United States alone (Harwood et al., 1999). Approximately 30% of all accidents are connected to ethanol use, and excessive ethanol use contributes to many chronic and life-threatening illnesses, including gastrointestinal, liver, and cardiovascular disease ("Tenth Special Report to Congress on Alcohol and Health," 2000). Data indicate that those who start drinking before the age of 14 years are 12 times more likely to be injured in accidents while under the influence of ethanol than those who start drinking after age 21 (Hingson et al., 2000). Early-onset alcohol drinking is also strongly associated with lifetime alcohol problems (Chou and Pickering, 1992). Understanding the factors that contribute to the escalation and maintenance of excessive ethanol drinking is crucial to improve prevention, public education, and early intervention strategies. At this time, it is still unclear why some individuals abuse ethanol and others do not.One potential source of vulnerability to developing alcohol use problems is the quality and magnitude of acute subjective responses to alcohol (Fischman and Foltin, 1991). For instance, individuals who experience greater stimulant-like effects from an acute dose of ethanol also report greater drug liking and euphoria and have greater behavioral preference for ethanol (over placebo) compared with those individuals who experience mos...

BackgroundThis study evaluated the hemoglobin dose response, other efficacy measures and safety of daprodustat, an orally administered, hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor in development for anemia of chronic kidney disease.MethodsParticipants (n = 216) with baseline hemoglobin levels of 9–11.5 g/dL on hemodialysis (HD) previously receiving stable doses of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) were randomized in a 24-week dose-range, efficacy and safety study. Participants discontinued rhEPO and then were randomized to receive daily daprodustat (4, 6, 8, 10 or 12 mg) or control (placebo for 4 weeks then open-label rhEPO as required). After 4 weeks, doses were titrated to achieve a hemoglobin target of 10–11.5 g/dL. The primary outcome was characterization of the dose–response relationship between daprodustat and hemoglobin at 4 weeks; additionally, the efficacy and safety of daprodustat were assessed over 24 weeks.ResultsOver the first 4 weeks, the mean hemoglobin change from baseline increased dose-dependently from −0.29  (daprodustat 4 mg) to 0.69 g/dL (daprodustat 10 and 12 mg). The mean change from baseline hemoglobin (10.4 g/dL) at 24 weeks was 0.03 and −0.11 g/dL for the combined daprodustat and control groups, respectively. The median maximum observed plasma EPO levels in the control group were ∼14-fold higher than in the combined daprodustat group. Daprodustat demonstrated an adverse event profile consistent with the HD population.ConclusionsDaprodustat produced dose-dependent changes in hemoglobin over the first 4 weeks after switching from a stable dose of rhEPO as well as maintained hemoglobin target levels over 24 weeks.

These data indicate that habitual moderate/heavy ethanol use was associated with greater stimulant-like effects after an acute dose of alcohol. This finding is consistent with the idea (Newlin and Thomson, 1990, 1999) that individuals who experience greater stimulant-like effects during the ascending limb and lesser sedative-like effects on the descending limb of the blood alcohol concentration curve may be at greater risk for developing ethanol use disorders. Although we cannot determine the causality of this association, sensitivity to the stimulant effects of ethanol may play an important role in the continuation of heavy ethanol use and the increased risk of negative consequences from this use.

Background: Most studies of risk factors for alcohol-related problems have focused on biological family history as a primary risk factor. However, other factors, such as early-age heavy drinking, are also risk factors for sustained or progressive heavy consumption. Little is currently known about the mechanisms underlying binge or heavy drinking.Methods: This study examined the acute subjective and objective effects of ethanol in heavy drinkers versus light drinkers. Thirty-four subjects participated in this within-subjects study consisting of three early-evening testing sessions in which subjects consumed a beverage containing either 0.8 or 0.4 g/kg ethanol or placebo.Results: Compared with lighter drinkers, heavy drinkers were more sensitive to the positive stimulantlike effects of ethanol (p Ͻ 0.05), especially during the increasing limb of the blood alcohol curve. Heavy drinkers also showed less sedation and cortisol response after alcohol than the light drinkers (p Ͻ 0.05). Conclusions:The results indicate that young adult binge drinkers show a biphasic alcohol response, with heightened sensitivity to stimulant-like alcohol effects and greater tolerance to sedative alcohol effects compared with their light-drinking counterparts.Key Words: Alcohol Response, Heavy Drinker, Risk for Alcoholism, Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale, Cortisol. H EAVY ETHANOL DRINKING among young adultsis a serious problem in this country (Chou and Pickering, 1992), and the consequences of this excessive use, both financial and personal, are widespread. The cost of ethanol-related health care, loss of productivity, crime, and accidents totals more than $148 million annually in the United States alone (Harwood et al., 1999). Approximately 30% of all accidents are connected to ethanol use, and excessive ethanol use contributes to many chronic and life-threatening illnesses, including gastrointestinal, liver, and cardiovascular disease ("Tenth Special Report to Congress on Alcohol and Health," 2000). Data indicate that those who start drinking before the age of 14 years are 12 times more likely to be injured in accidents while under the influence of ethanol than those who start drinking after age 21 (Hingson et al., 2000). Early-onset alcohol drinking is also strongly associated with lifetime alcohol problems (Chou and Pickering, 1992). Understanding the factors that contribute to the escalation and maintenance of excessive ethanol drinking is crucial to improve prevention, public education, and early intervention strategies. At this time, it is still unclear why some individuals abuse ethanol and others do not.One potential source of vulnerability to developing alcohol use problems is the quality and magnitude of acute subjective responses to alcohol (Fischman and Foltin, 1991). For instance, individuals who experience greater stimulant-like effects from an acute dose of ethanol also report greater drug liking and euphoria and have greater behavioral preference for ethanol (over placebo) compared with those individuals who experience mos...

Ethanol exerts both stimulant-like and sedative-like subjective and behavioral effects in humans depending on the dose, the time after ingestion and, we will argue, also on the individual taking the drug. This study assessed stimulant-like and sedative-like subjective and behavioral effects of ethanol during the ascending and descending limbs of the blood alcohol curve across a range of doses in nonproblem social drinkers. Forty-nine healthy men and women, 21 to 35 years old, consumed a beverage containing placebo or ethanol (0.2, 0.4, or 0.8 g/kg) on four separate laboratory sessions, in randomized order and under double-blind conditions. Subjective and behavioral responses were assessed before and at regular intervals for 3 hr after ingestion of the beverage. The lowest dose of ethanol (0.2 g/kg) only produced negligible subjective effects compared to placebo. The moderate dose (0.4 g/kg) increased sedative-like effects 90 min after ethanol ingestion but did not increase ratings of stimulant effects at any time. The highest dose (0.8 g/kg) increased ratings of both stimulant- and sedative-like effects during the ascending limb and produced only sedative-like effects during the descending limb. Closer examination of the data revealed that individual differences in response to the highest dose of ethanol accounted for this unexpected pattern of results: about half of the subjects reported stimulant-like effects on the ascending limb and sedative-like effects on the descending limb after 0.8 g/kg ethanol, whereas the other half did not report stimulant-like effects at any time after administration of ethanol. These results challenge the simple assumption that ethanol has biphasic subjective effects across both dose and time, and extend previous findings demonstrating individual differences in response to ethanol.

BackgroundThis study assessed the short-term safety and efficacy of daprodustat (an oral hypoxia-inducible factor-prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor) to achieve a target hemoglobin in patients with anemia of chronic kidney disease (CKD).MethodsPatients (n = 252) with Stages 3–5 CKD not receiving dialysis were enrolled in this 24-week, multicenter trial [hemoglobin entry criteria: 8–10 g/dL (Cohort 1) or 8–11 g/dL (Cohort 2) for recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO)-naïve participants; 9–10.5 g/dL (Cohort 1) or 9–11.5 g/dL (Cohort 2) for rhEPO users]. rhEPO-naïve participants were randomized 3:1 to daprodustat (1, 2 or 4 mg) or control (rhEPO per standard of care). rhEPO users were randomized 1:1 to daprodustat 2 mg or control. Study medication was titrated to maintain hemoglobin 9–10.5 g/dL (Cohort 1) or 10–11.5 g/dL (Cohort 2). Hemoglobin, iron metabolism markers and safety parameters were measured every 4 weeks.ResultsMean hemoglobin levels at Week 24 were 10.2 g/dL (Cohort 1) and 10.9 g/dL (Cohort 2) in the daprodustat group and 10.7 g/dL (Cohort 1) and 11.0 g/dL (Cohort 2) in the control group. Participants had hemoglobin levels within the target range a median of 82% and 66% of the time between Weeks 12 and 24 in the daprodustat and control groups, respectively. The adverse event profile was consistent with clinical events in the CKD population.ConclusionsDaprodustat effectively maintained target hemoglobin over 24 weeks in CKD patients with anemia who were rhEPO naïve or had switched from existing rhEPO therapy.

These data indicate that habitual moderate/heavy ethanol use was associated with greater stimulant-like effects after an acute dose of alcohol. This finding is consistent with the idea (Newlin and Thomson, 1990, 1999) that individuals who experience greater stimulant-like effects during the ascending limb and lesser sedative-like effects on the descending limb of the blood alcohol concentration curve may be at greater risk for developing ethanol use disorders. Although we cannot determine the causality of this association, sensitivity to the stimulant effects of ethanol may play an important role in the continuation of heavy ethanol use and the increased risk of negative consequences from this use.