|
Route of administration
|
Oral
|
Parenteral, usually subcutaneous or intravenous
|
Oral
|
Oral
|
|
Plasma half-life
|
Long enough to give constant protection from labile plasma iron
|
Short (minutes); requires constant delivery
|
Moderate (< 2 hours). Requires at least 3-times-per-day dosing
|
Long, 8–16 hours; remains in plasma at 24 h
|
|
Therapeutic index
|
High
|
High at moderate doses in iron-overloaded subjects
|
Idiosyncratic side effects are most important
|
Probably high in iron overloaded subjects*
|
|
Molar iron chelating efficiency; charge of iron (III) complex
|
High, uncharged
|
High (hexadentate); charged
|
Low (bidentate); uncharged
|
Moderate (tridentate); uncharged
|
|
Important side effects
|
None or only in iron-depleted subjects
|
Auditory and retinal toxicity; effects on bones and growth; potential lung toxicity, all at high doses; local skin reactions at infusion sites
|
Rare but severe agranulocytosis; mild neutropenia; common abdominal discomfort; erosive arthritis
|
Abdominal discomfort; rash or mild diarrhoea upon initiation of therapy; mild increased creatinine level
|
|
Ability to chelate intracellular cardiac and other tissue iron in humans
|
High
|
Probably lower than deferiprone and deferasirox (it is not clear why)
|
High in clinical and in in vitro studies
|
Insufficient clinical data available; promising in laboratory studies
|
