Daxor Announces Publication of Clinical Study Involving Anemia and Heart Failure; Fourth Quarter Dividend Declared
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - October 15, 2008) - Daxor Corporation (AMEX: DXR), a medical
instrumentation and biotechnology company, announced the publication of a
comparison study of the blood volume and anemia characteristics in heart
failure patients in the October 2008 issue of The American Journal of
Cardiology. In the study, heart failure patients were categorized on the
basis of whether they had a normal ejection fraction versus a low ejection
fraction. An ejection fraction is a measurement of how much blood is
pumped out of the heart and is used by physicians to determine how well the
heart is functioning. Significant controversy exists as to how these heart
failure patients should be optimally treated.
Drs. Dmitry Abramov and Mathew Maurer et al. at Columbia University Medical
Center utilized Daxor's Blood Volume Analyzer BVA-100 to study the blood
volume and the presence of anemia in these heart failure patients. The
main findings of the study were two-fold. 88% of the patients with a
normal ejection fraction had red cell deficits (true anemia) compared to
59% of the patients with a decreased ejection fraction. Furthermore, in
contrast to patients with a low ejection fraction, patients with a normal
ejection fraction could be hypovolemic (low blood volume), normovolemic
(normal blood volume), or hypervolemic (high blood volume). The authors
noted that the standard test for anemia, the hemoglobin or hematocrit,
correlated very poorly with a direct measurement of the red cell volume
status of the patient. Only a direct blood volume measurement can
accurately diagnose these various blood volume conditions.
This study confirms previous studies from Columbia University demonstrating
that only a measured blood volume can accurately determine the volume
status of a heart failure patient. At the present time very powerful blood
volume altering medications are used to treat patients without physicians
accurately knowing the patient's underlying blood volume status. There are
approximately 5 million patients in the U.S. currently under treatment for
heart failure.
The correct treatment of anemia in various other heart failure studies has
shown improvements in patients' quality of life and exercise tolerance.
This most recent study suggests that the current practice and standards to
diagnose and treat anemia in heart failure patients can be dramatically
improved with the inclusion of a blood volume measurement.
The Board of Directors voted to declare a dividend of $0.25. The dividend
will be paid to shareholders of record as of November 4, 2008, to be paid
on November 26, 2008. The Company has issued two quarterly dividends this
year, and the Board of Directors will decide at the end of November whether
to issue a special dividend in December. It is the company's intention to
maintain a quarterly dividend policy if net profits are available to
maintain the dividend.
Daxor Corporation manufactures and markets the BVA-100, the only
FDA-approved semi-automated Blood Volume Analyzer. The BVA-100 is used in
conjunction with Volumex, Daxor's single use diagnostic kit. For more
information regarding Daxor Corporation's Blood Volume Analyzer BVA-100,
visit Daxor's website www.Daxor.com.