In thalassemia, iron overload is unavoidable. Which therapy is used to chelate excess iron?

In thalassemia, iron overload is unavoidable. Which therapy is used to chelate excess iron?

• A. Iron supplementation
• B. Vitamin C therapy
• C. Blood letting
• D. Iron chelation therapy such as deferasirox or deferoxamine

Answer: (D)

Iron overload in thalassemia comes from repeated transfusions and increased intestinal iron absorption, and the body has no good way to excrete excess iron on its own. The way to remove that iron is with iron chelation therapy, which uses drugs that bind ferric iron and facilitate its elimination from the body. Deferasirox is taken orally, usually once daily, while deferoxamine is given by infusion or subcutaneous infusion, and deferiprone is another oral option. These chelators form stable complexes with iron and help flush it out, reducing iron deposition in organs such as the heart and liver and lowering the risk of endocrine and cardiac complications. Other choices don’t address iron overload: iron supplementation would add iron, vitamin C can increase iron absorption at high doses and is not used to treat overload, and blood letting would worsen anemia.

Iron overload in thalassemia comes from repeated transfusions and increased intestinal iron absorption, and the body has no good way to excrete excess iron on its own. The way to remove that iron is with iron chelation therapy, which uses drugs that bind ferric iron and facilitate its elimination from the body. Deferasirox is taken orally, usually once daily, while deferoxamine is given by infusion or subcutaneous infusion, and deferiprone is another oral option. These chelators form stable complexes with iron and help flush it out, reducing iron deposition in organs such as the heart and liver and lowering the risk of endocrine and cardiac complications. Other choices don’t address iron overload: iron supplementation would add iron, vitamin C can increase iron absorption at high doses and is not used to treat overload, and blood letting would worsen anemia.