Efficacy and Safety of Deferiprone for Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized...

Parkinson's disease (PD), the second most common neurodegenerative illness, is thought to have impacted 9.4 million people globally in 2020. The causation framework for Parkinson's disease is a combination of genetics, age, and environment. Iron chelators have been studied as potential treatment agents for Parkinson's disease (PD) because they can reduce oxidative stress and iron accumulation. Deferiprone (DFP) is one such drug.

To systematically review and analyze available clinical studies assessing the efficacy and safety of deferiprone in patients with Parkinson's disease, with particular focus on motor outcomes, iron accumulation, and adverse effects.

A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, clinicaltrials.gov.in, and Web of Science databases, and a total of 3 studies were included and reviewed. The studies' baseline data included the first author's name, the year of the study, the place of the study, the number of subjects and controls, the mean age, gender, dosage, and route of DFP, the Estimated years of Disease (EYO), the MDS-UPDRS score, the PDQ-39 score, the MOCA score, the MMSE score, MRI T2 changes, and serum ferritin levels. Data regarding adverse effects and deaths were also extracted. A pooled analysis of the collected data was performed using R Studio.

The MDS-UPDRS score increased less in the test group's patients than in the placebo group (SMD=-0.69, 95% CI=-5.64 to 4.25, P =<0.00001, I 2 =98%). However, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups in the serum ferritin levels and the MRI T2 changes in caudate, nigra, pallidum, and putamen.

Deferiprone shows potential in slowing motor symptom progression in Parkinson's disease, although its impact on brain iron levels remains inconclusive. Further large-scale, long-term studies are warranted to establish its clinical efficacy and safety.