Does EPO have long term effects?

Asked by: Don Johns DDS  |  Last update: November 9, 2025
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Thus, in normal subjects both long-term administration of low doses of EPO and short-term bouts of high-dose EPO may produce arterial hypertension and intracerebral vasoconstriction.

What are the long-term effects of EPO?

If EPO levels are too high the body will produce too many red blood cells which can thicken the blood, leading to clotting, heart attack and stroke. Repeated doses of EPO can also stimulate the development of antibodies directed against EPO, which can result in anaemia.

What are the disadvantages of EPO?

WADA explains that EPO thickens the blood, which “leads to an increased risk of several deadly diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, and cerebral or pulmonary embolism.” Athletes who misuse recombinant human EPO are also at risk of serious autoimmune diseases.

How long can you take EPO injections?

Your course of treatment

If blood tests show the treatment is working, you usually continue having injections until 1 month after you finish your course of chemotherapy. Or you may continue until you are no longer anaemic.

Can EPO build muscle?

In humans, EPO treatment increases skeletal muscle hypertrophy and angiogenesis in diseased conditions (chronic renal failure and Friedreich ataxia, respectively), but has no effect in healthy muscle. In both rodent and human studies, EPO has been shown to increase or have no effect on muscle oxidative capacity.

CHDR investigating the effects of EPO on cycling performance

40 related questions found

Can I take EPO everyday?

When taken by mouth: Evening primrose oil is likely safe for most people when taken in doses up to 6 grams daily for up to 1 year.

Does EPO cause erectile dysfunction?

Giving erythropoietin may help protect the nerves which could result in a reduced amount of time of erectile dysfunction and an improved rate of erection recovery after surgery.

How does EPO make you feel?

EPO medication helps treat anemia by helping your body make more red blood cells. This should improve your energy level and make you feel better.

Who shouldn't take EPO?

If you have epilepsy or seizure disorder you shouldn't take EPO because it can cause seizures. Interactions haven't been well studied, but you should be cautious about using EPO if you take anti-inflammatory drugs (for example cortisone) and anticoagulants because interactions are possible.

When to stop EPO?

Note: Withhold EPO if BP > 180/110mmHg at the time of administration and medical intervention required. Stop erythropoietin if Haemoglobin > 140g/L, check Hb monthly and restart at 50% of dose when Haemoglobin < 130g/L within 3 month.

What are the pros and cons of an EPO?

An EPO is more restrictive, with less coverage or reimbursement for out-of-network providers. For budget-friendly members, the cost of an EPO is typically lower than a PPO. However, it's important to know that some EPOs are narrow networks and might not have in-network specialists close by.

Does EPO affect kidneys?

Animal and in vitro studies. Many animal studies have shown that EPO administration protects kidney tissue from damage and improves renal function in ischemia-reperfusion (IR) and contrast-induced injury models of AKI (Tables 1 and 2) [25,28-52] in which EPO reduced kidney dysfunction by decreasing apoptosis.

What organ does EPO affect?

Erythropoietin (ih-rith-roh-POY-uh-tin) is a hormone that your kidneys primarily produce. Erythropoietin (EPO) helps your body maintain a healthy amount of red blood cells (erythrocytes).

How long does EPO last in the body?

It is difficult to discriminate between the endogenous EPO and recombinant exogenous hormone. EPO has a relatively short half-life in serum (the half-life of rhEPO-a is 8.5 ± 2.4 hours when administered IV and 19.4 ± 10.7 hours when administered SC). [62] EPO is undetectable in urine after 3–4 days of injection.

What is the injection to stimulate bone marrow?

Filgrastim injection (Neupogen) is also used to increase the chance of survival in people who have been exposed to harmful amounts of radiation, which can cause severe and life-threatening damage to your bone marrow. Filgrastim is in a class of medications called colony-stimulating factors.

Which is better, fish oil or evening primrose?

Although it may seem like you should opt for omega-3s over evening primrose oil, this is not necessarily the case. The particular substances in evening primrose oil actually fight inflammation, unlike most other omega-6 fatty acids.

Does EPO increase estrogen?

During menopause, the body experiences a decrease in estrogen levels. Although evening primrose oil is not a source of estrogen, it may play a role in managing symptoms associated with this transition, particularly through its influence on prostaglandins.

What medications should not be taken with evening primrose?

Possible interactions include:
  • Anticoagulants and anti-platelet drugs, herbs and supplements. These types of drugs, herbs and supplements reduce blood clotting. ...
  • Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) substrates. ...
  • Lopinavir and ritonavir (Kaletra). ...
  • Phenothiazines.

Does EPO cause weight gain?

Lower Epo dose of 150 U/kg significantly reduced body weight gain and fat mass, and decreased serum insulin, with no detectable effects on fasting blood glucose or glucose tolerance, meanwhile 75 U/kg Epo dose did not show any change in these parameters (Figures 2 and 3).

Does EPO build muscle?

Another study showed that EPO treatment increased type I muscle fiber diameter in patients with chronic renal failure when compared to pre-treatment levels (Davenport et al., 1993), although 14 weeks of EPO treatment had no effect on muscle fiber hypertrophy in young males (Lundby et al., 2008a).

How long does EPO take to start working?

When epoetin begins to work, usually in about 6 weeks, most people start to feel better. Some people are able to be more active. However, epoetin only corrects anemia. It has no effect on kidney disease, cancer, or any other medical problem that needs regular medical attention.

Does EPO cause hair loss?

7 How- ever, during initial trials with Epo, both an in- crease and a decrease in amount of hair had been reported (Amgen, Thousand Oaks, personal com- munication, 1999). This is the first report to suggest that hair loss may result from this drug.

Is EPO a stimulant?

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a glycoprotein hormone produced by the peritubular cells of the renal cortex. This hormone stimulates red blood cell production in response to low partial pressure of oxygen (pO2).

What are the physical effects of EPO?

Of greatest concern is the fact that EPO may increase arterial blood pressure even in healthy subjects. It is noteworthy also that short-term administration of high EPO doses may cause peripheral and intracerebral vasoconstriction.