Getting the iron out
By Nathan Seppa
From Philadelphia, at a meeting of the American Society of Hematology
While transfusions are lifesavers for many anemia patients, they introduce excess iron into recipients. This overload can damage the liver, pancreas, and heart. A new pill that reverses this process may vastly improve the lives of anemia patients, a new study shows.
The standard drug for removing iron from the body is deferoxamine mesylate. It chemically captures, or chelates, excess iron but must be given intravenously or by injection. The chief problem with deferoxamine mesylate therapy is that patients sometimes skip treatments, notes Stanley L. Schrier of Stanford University. A pill-based alternative would presumably be easier for patients to follow.