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…

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…