The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on September 25 that it is examining the safety of Exjade (deferasirox) when prescribed to myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients.  An initial FDA data analysis shows that MDS patients taking Exjade have a greater risk of serious side effects than patients without MDS.  The FDA announced it needs to further analyze the specifics of  the Exjade side effects, however, before coming to a final conclusion about the drug’s safety for MDS patients. 

Exjade is an iron chelating agent, a type of drug used to bind free…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on its Web site today that it is investigating the safety of the drug Exjade (deferasirox) when prescribed to patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).  The investigation was initiated after an FDA data analysis found that MDS patients taking Exjade appear to have a higher risk of serious, often fatal, side effects.

Exjade is prescribed to MDS patients receiving blood transfusions to reduce the excess levels of iron that often occur as a result of transfusions.

The Beacon will cover this news in more detail in a later news…

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center published study results in Transfusion indicating that certain myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients who require repeated red blood cell transfusions may benefit from a treatment called iron chelation therapy (ICT).

ICT is used to remove excess iron that accumulates in the blood with multiple transfusions. Patients treated with ICT in this study had a median survival time of 9 years compared to 5 years for untreated patients.

The results in the study are based on an analysis of past medical records from MDS patients…

After analyzing patients diagnosed with early myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), Czech researchers from the Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion have concluded that dependence on red blood cell transfusions has a significantly negative impact on the length of overall survival.

Eighty to 90 percent of MDS patients receive transfusions to treat symptoms of anemia, which is a decrease in the number of red blood cells. Symptoms commonly include chronic tiredness or fatigue, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, and chilled sensations.

Transfusions help anemic patients by supplementing the insufficient levels of red…

What is excess iron?

Iron is an essential element to all living organisms, as it is an important aspect of health and disease. Iron is essential to red blood cells since they house most of the body’s iron content. Iron is normally bound by different proteins which prevent it from reacting destructively with other cells in the body. However, excess iron can overload these proteins, leading to free iron circulating and accumulating in the body due to the lack of an active mechanism to excrete iron. Iron deposits, especially in…