Deferoxamine therapy for intracerebral hemorrhage.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a subtype of stroke with very high mortality. Experiments have indicated that clot lysis and iron play an important role in ICH-induced brain injury. Iron overload occurs in the brain after ICH in rats. Intracerebral infusion of iron causes brain edema and neuronal death. Deferoxamine, an iron chelator, is an FDA-approved drug for the treatment of acute iron intoxication and chronic iron overload due to transfusion-dependent anemia. Deferoxamine can rapidly penetrate the blood-brain barrier and accumulate in the brain tissue in significant concentration after systemic administration. We have demonstrated that deferoxamine reduces ICH-induced brain edema, neuronal death, brain atrophy, and neurological deficits. Iron chelation with deferoxamine could be a new therapy for ICH.