A Remarkable Effect of Anabolic Steroid Administration on a Case of Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) with an Onset of Pancytopenia

Abstract

A Case of 63-year-old female whose hemolysis and anemia were ameliorated by administration of anabolic steroid is reported.
The patient was first found to have anemia, leucocytopenia and thrombocytopenia with bone marrow hypoplasia in 1976, and had been treated with corticosteroid for six years. In January 1982, she noticed passage of red urine and acute exacerbation of anemia.
The diagnosis of PNH was made based on increased reticulocyte count in peripheral blood, slight icterus and positive acidified serum lysis test (Ham test).
She was administered anabolic steroid, hemolysis dramatically ameliorated and anemia alleviated. After administration for about two years and a half, we considered that the effect of anabolic steroid on this case depended on its dosage.