Erythropoietin (normally referred to as EPO) is basically glycoprotein cytokine that comes out of your kidney (one of the other functions of the kidney), and relates to cellular hypoxia. In simple terms....it builds or stimulates red blood cell production (within your bone marrow).
Why does all of this matter?
Well....N-TV (German commercial news) brought this topic up today....people who live in higher elevations (mountainous regions) are less likely to have a full-up drama with Covid-19. Various news bits over the past two months have acknowledged that mountainous regions just didn't have the cluster or death rate as seen in non-mountainous areas.
Epo, for the record, is always stamped as a bad type hormone, because it's associated with sports cheating. The French bike races....were highly connected to Epo being used. American baseball has had connections to it.
But researchers have found across the globe....that folks who reside in higher elevations, where you'd naturally produce more Epo....don't have harsh Covid episodes.
Lesser oxygen in the air at high altitude being part of this discussion? Yes. The body reacts to this and Epo production ramps up on its own, without any help or external assistance.
Where does this lead onto? More testing of course. No one should expect any miracle drug situation out of Epo, but I would suggest in a year, after a fair amount of testing....this might be a drug/hormone situation, where your age or health conditions need a boost if you test positive, and Epo might be part of the treatment.
Oh, and for the cost of Epo? With a prescription from doctor's care, it generally runs in the $500 range for a four-week treatment. I wouldn't use the word 'cheap', but it's not $2k for a dose.
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