Abstract
Removal of body iron is a severe clinical problem in patients affected by hemochromatosis or iron-loading anemias. Desferrioxamine (DFO) is the most potent artificial iron-chelating agent. This work deals with the problem of describing DFO action in man by means of a mathematical model, formulated on the basis of the current knowledge about DFO and iron metabolism. Since most clinical data are concerned with DFO-induced urinary iron excretion, only this process, which involves iron stored in reticuloendothelial (RE) cells, was described in detail. Most of the parameters of the model were estimated from data obtained by studying the single processes involved in iron chelation with DFO. A computer simulation study then allowed us to assign meaningful values to the remaining parameters. Different DFO treatments were simulated, and the results obtained seem to show us that the model can reproduce the main experimental findings and the relationship between the amount of chelated iron and the iron status of the patient.
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