Overview of iron chelation therapy with desferrioxamine and deferiprone.

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Cappellini MD, Musallam KM, Taher AT

Overview of iron chelation therapy with desferrioxamine and deferiprone.

Hemoglobin. 2009;33 Suppl 1:S58-69. doi: 10.3109/03630260903346924.

PubMed ID

20001633 [ View in PubMed

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Abstract

Chronic iron overload from frequent blood transfusions to treat patients with severe anemias leads to significant morbidity and mortality. Although desferrioxamine, the current standard of care, is an effective iron chelator with long-term evidence, it requires tedious subcutaneous infusion that reflects negatively on patient compliance. Deferiprone opened the horizon for an era of oral iron chelators. Although collective evidence proved its efficacy, safety issues are still of high concern and require regular monitoring. The experience with these two drugs helps better delineate the optimal goals of iron chelation therapy and the ideal iron chelator.

DrugBank Data that Cites this Article

Drug Targets

Drug	Target	Kind	Organism	Pharmacological Action	Actions
Deferoxamine	Iron	Small molecule	Humans	Yes	Chelator	Details