Inpharma 1394 - 5 Jul 2003

■ Long-term therapy with deferiprone may have agreater cardioprotective effect against the toxicity ofiron overload compared with SC deferoxamine, inpatients with thalassaemia major, according toresearchers from Italy and Canada.* Theyretrospectively analysed data from 129 patients withthalassaemia major, who were treated for at least 4years with either deferoxamine [‘Desferal’] 20–50mg/kg/day as an SC infusion administered 4–7 timesper week (n = 75) or oral deferiprone [‘Ferriprox’]25–100 mg/kg/day taken in three divided doses. Allpatients had been treated with deferoxamine prior tothe review period, and there was no significantdifference between the two groups in the proportionof patients with cardiac disease at the baseline of thestudy. Cardiac dysfunction, expressed as a worseningof pre-existing cardiac abnormality or the developmentof new cardiac disease, was diagnosed in two (4%) ofthe patients treated with deferiprone, but in 15 (20%)of those treated with deferoxamine (p = 0.007).Cardiac disease-free survival over the study period wasalso significantly more favourable in the deferipronegroup than in the deferoxamine group.* One of the researchers was affiliated with Apotex Research Inc,Canada.

Piga A, et al. Comparative effects of deferiprone and deferoxamine on survivaland cardiac disease in patients with thalassemia major: a retrospective analysis.Haematologica 88: 489-496, May 2003 800943097

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Inpharma 5 Jul 2003 No. 13941173-8324/10/1394-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved