title: Overview of iron chelation therapy with desferrioxamine and deferiprone.
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.
authors.affiliation: Universitá di MilanoPoliclinico Foundation IRCCS, Milan, Italy. maria.cappellini@unimi.it
authors.forename: Maria D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Cappellini
authors.forename: Khaled M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Musallam
authors.forename: Ali T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Taher
mesh_terms: D015913:Chelation Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D000077543:Deferiprone; D003676:Deferoxamine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D006801:Humans; D007502:Iron Chelating Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011728:Pyridones / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D007502:Iron Chelating Agents; D011728:Pyridones; D000077543:Deferiprone; D003676:Deferoxamine