Biomaterial Database

Iron-chelating therapy and the treatment of thalassemia. 1997

N F Olivieri, and G M Brittenham

Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Iron-chelating therapy with deferoxamine in patients with thalassemia major has dramatically altered the prognosis of this previously fatal disease. The successes achieved with deferoxamine, as well as the limitations of this treatment, have stimulated the design of alternative strategies of iron-chelating therapy, including orally active iron chelators. The development of the most promising of these, deferiprone, has progressed rapidly over the last 5 years; data from several trials have provided direct and supportive evidence for its short-term efficacy. At the same time, the toxicity of this agent mandates a careful evaluation of the balance between risk and benefit of deferiprone in patients with thalassemia, in most of whom long-term deferoxamine is safe and efficacious therapy.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D015913	Chelation Therapy	Therapy of heavy metal poisoning using agents which sequester the metal from organs or tissues and bind it firmly within the ring structure of a new compound which can be eliminated from the body.	Therapy, Chelation,Chelation Therapies,Therapies, Chelation
D017086	beta-Thalassemia	A disorder characterized by reduced synthesis of the beta chains of hemoglobin. There is retardation of hemoglobin A synthesis in the heterozygous form (thalassemia minor), which is asymptomatic, while in the homozygous form (thalassemia major, Cooley's anemia, Mediterranean anemia, erythroblastic anemia), which can result in severe complications and even death, hemoglobin A synthesis is absent.	Anemia, Cooley's,Anemia, Erythroblastic,Anemia, Mediterranean,Hemoglobin F Disease,Thalassemia Major,Thalassemia Minor,Erythroblastic Anemia,Mediterranean Anemia,Microcytemia, beta Type,Thalassemia Intermedia,Thalassemia Major (beta-Thalassemia Major),Thalassemia Minor (beta-Thalassemia Minor),Thalassemia, beta Type,beta Thalassemia,Anemia, Cooley,Anemia, Cooleys,Anemias, Erythroblastic,Anemias, Mediterranean,Cooley's Anemia,Disease, Hemoglobin F,Intermedia, Thalassemia,Intermedias, Thalassemia,Major, Thalassemia (beta-Thalassemia Major),Majors, Thalassemia (beta-Thalassemia Major),Mediterranean Anemias,Microcytemias, beta Type,Minor, Thalassemia (beta-Thalassemia Minor),Minors, Thalassemia (beta-Thalassemia Minor),Thalassemia Intermedias,Thalassemia Major (beta Thalassemia Major),Thalassemia Majors (beta-Thalassemia Major),Thalassemia Minor (beta Thalassemia Minor),Thalassemia Minors (beta-Thalassemia Minor),Thalassemia, beta,Thalassemias, beta,Thalassemias, beta Type,Type Microcytemia, beta,Type Microcytemias, beta,Type Thalassemia, beta,Type Thalassemias, beta,beta Thalassemias,beta Type Microcytemia,beta Type Microcytemias,beta Type Thalassemia,beta Type Thalassemias