Ocular Toxicity of Iron Chelator Drugs among Thalassemia Patients; a Review

Transfusion dependent thalassemia is a hematological condition characterized by imbalance in synthesis of alpha and beta subunits of hemoglobin. The consequence of regular and repeated transfusions is iron deposition in different organs. In order to survive, these patients need iron chelator drugs. The oldest drug of this group is desferrioxamine which is administered subcutaneously or intravenously. Nowadays, oral iron chelator drugs, including deferiprone and deferasirox are in more widespread use since they are more convenient. In this review the ocular toxicity of these chelator drugs is discussed.