Exclusion Criteria

Co-existing Condition:

Patients with the following are excluded:

• History of any primary hematologic disease.
• HIV disease related dementia.
• Uncontrolled hypertension (diastolic blood pressure > 100 mmHg).
• Presence of concomitant iron deficiency.
• Anemia attributable to factors other than HIV disease or zidovudine (AZT) therapy.
• Acute opportunistic infection.
• History of seizures.
• Clinically significant disease / dysfunction of the pulmonary, cardiovascular, endocrine, neurologic, gastrointestinal, or genitourinary systems not attributable to underlying HIV disease.

Concurrent Medication:

Excluded:

• Zidovudine (AZT) therapy during the double-blind phase of study.

Patients with the following are excluded:

• History of any primary hematologic disease.
• Clinically significant disease / dysfunction of the pulmonary, cardiovascular, endocrine, neurologic, gastrointestinal, or genitourinary systems not attributable to underlying HIV disease.
• HIV disease related dementia.
• Uncontrolled hypertension (diastolic blood pressure > 100 mmHg).
• Presence of concomitant iron deficiency.

Prior Medication:

Excluded within 30 days of study entry:

• Experimental drug or experimental device.
• Cytotoxic chemotherapy.
• Excluded within 2 months of study entry:
• Androgen therapy.
• Zidovudine (AZT) therapy and during the double-blind phase.

Clinical diagnosis with AIDS or AIDS related complex (ARC) and related anemia.

• Clinical diagnosis of AIDS or ARC.
• Clinically stable for 1 month preceding study entry.
• Patients should preferably be transfusion dependent.

Substance abuse.