Μethods of iron chelation therapy: a bibliographic review

"Iron Chelation Therapy" is a term used to describe the procedure of removing excess iron from the body, which is applied after a total of approximately 20 blood transfusions or when serum ferritin levels rise above 1000 ng/ml. Aim: The purpose of the present paper is a retrospective search in bibliography, concerning the methods of iron chelation treatment for patients with hemochromatosis owing to their undergoing multiple blood transfusions. Method: The methology followed, included the search for review and research studies, in electronic databases as well as scientific haematology journals, mostly regarding recent entries in greek and international bibliography. Results: According to the bibliography, chelation therapy compounds have significantly changed the patients' clinical features and have substantially improved their quality of life, along with their outcome over time. However, the level of patient compliance to treatment still remains the basic problem of iron chelation therapy. Conclusions: Even though the discovery of orally administered chelating agents can qualify as an auspicious accomplishment, research fields should cover a much wider spectrum, in order to improve the effectiveness of iron chelation treatment.

Keywords: Hemochromatosis, iron chelation therapy, chelating agents, thalassemia