The therapeutic opportunities and pitfalls of using iron ion chelators to treat neurodegenerative diseases
Barry Halliwell · 2026
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Description
Barry Halliwell writes a 2026 review asking why iron-removing drugs keep disappointing in brain disease despite a rationale. Iron accumulates in the regions that degenerate in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and related conditions. Free ions catalyse oxidative attack on DNA, proteins, and fats through chemistry such as the Fenton reaction. Chelators, which bind iron, should starve that damage. Yet trials of chelating agents have delivered unimpressive results, and in cases patients fared worse.
Halliwell argues the explanation sits in redox chemistry that trial design has neglected. A chelator can hold iron in a form that stays reactive, shuffle it between compartments, or strip iron from enzymes that need it, so binding is not the same as silencing. The review weighs where in the body and cell a chelator reaches, which iron pools matter, and what measurements prove engagement. Chelation is not abandoned, but it is put on probation pending chemically sound trials.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Barry Halliwell |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 17 KB |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |