HBED - A POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVE TO DEFEROXAMINE FOR IRON-CHELATING THERAPY

To examine the potential clinical usefulness of the hexadentate phenol ic aminocarboxylate iron chelator N-bis(2-hydroxybenzyl)ethylenediamin e-N,N-diacetic acid (HBED) for the chronic treatment of transfusional iron overload, we compared the iron excretion induced by subcutaneous (SC) injection of HBED and deferoxamine (DFO), the reference chelator, in rodents and primates. In the non-iron-overloaded, bile-duct-cannul ated rat. a single SC injection of HBED, 150 mu mol/kg, resulted in a net iron excretion that was more than threefold greater than that afte r the same dose of DFO. In the iron-loaded Cebus apella monkey, a sing le SC injection of HBED, 150 mu mol/kg, produced a net iron excretion that was more than twice that observed after the same dose of SC DFO. In patients with transfusional iron overload, SC injections of HBED ma y provide a much needed alternative to the use of prolonged parenteral infusions of DFO. (C) 1998 by The American Society of Hematology.