NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Dec 11, 2014) - Daxor Corporation, (NYSE MKT: DXR) announced its funding of a major study today for treating heart failure. The principal investigator for the study is Wayne Miller, M.D., PhD. Dr. Miller and his associates previously conducted a study on heart failure patients which was recently published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology-Heart Failure. Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization for Medicare patients in the United States. Heart failure patients have a death rate of 35% to 40% in the first year after their initial hospitalization. Between 20% and 30% of hospitalized heart failure patients are readmitted to a hospital within 30 days. Starting in 2013, Medicare began charging hospitals a penalty for readmitting heart failure patients within 30 days. This study demonstrated that heart failure patients had serious blood volume derangements which were not uniform for individual patients. Fluid accumulation and blood volume expansion is one of the earliest changes in heart failure. Powerful diuretics are used to treat this condition. The over treatment of patients who do not have a blood volume expansion may result in a diminished blood volume and the precipitation of kidney failure. Some patients have unrecognized bleeding from the use of Anti-Coagulants. The majority of heart failure patients are treated without accurate knowledge of the patient's blood volume.
The goal of the new study is to determine whether utilization of the Blood Volume Analyzer to quantify objectively the patient's blood volume status can result in more appropriate treatment and reduce the need for re-hospitalization. Blood Volume measurement is a non-invasive test which can be performed in less than one hour and requires approximately one ounce of blood. A potential benefit of utilization of the test which can be administered on an outpatient basis is to permit adjustment of cardio vascular drugs to restore the patient's blood volume to a normal level. Previous published studies from the Columbia University School of Medicine have documented that the achievement of normal blood volume in heart failure patients leads to a significantly reduced death rate.
The Company has recently received inquiries from representatives of West African nations regarding the use of the Daxor BVA-100 Blood Volume Analyzer in the treatment of Ebola patients. Ebola, which is known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a viral sepsis which causes damage to the red blood cells and capillaries. The patients with damaged capillaries experience a severe form of internal bleeding. If the patient's circulation can be restored to relatively normal levels, the patient may survive and produce antibodies to help fight the virus. It is noteworthy that eight of the ten Ebola patients in the US who survived were treated with plasma containing Ebola antibodies. The plasma was an important part of restoring their blood volume back to normal levels. Quantification of the blood volume derangement and deficits would permit more precise resuscitation efforts in patients affected with Ebola. In addition to blood transfusions, there are other blood components which can be used to restore blood volume to a normal level.
In a previous study with 100 patients using the Blood Volume Analyzer at The Queen's Medical Center in Hawaii, there was a markedly lower death rate in patients with sepsis when treated with blood volume measurement to guide treatment. There was a death rate of 8% versus 24% for patients who were treated using standard invasive procedures such as pulmonary artery catherization. These findings were published in Shock, Volume 35, No. 3, pp. 220-228, 2011.
For more information regarding Daxor's Blood Volume Analyzer BVA-100, visit the Company's website at www.Daxor.com.