EPO and Renal insufficiency: Fujiwara et al. reported that erythropoietin improved anemia and significantly decreased the oxidative stress marker 8-OHdG, carotid artery intima-media thickness, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, and serum asymmetrical dimethylarginine levels, and consequently slowed the progression of renal insufficiency, oxidative stress, and atherosclerosis in 15 patients with renal anemia [21].