Treatment of Superficial siderosis with iron chelation therapy

Abstract

Superficial siderosis is caused by recurrent haemorrhage in the subarachnoid space leading to haemosiderin deposition. It typically causes the triad of ataxia, deafness and myelopathy. We report a patient who developed superficial siderosis following neurosurgery for syringomyelia and who had an improvement in his hearing and mobility following treatment with a new iron chelation therapy that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier. It provides an intriguing insight into a therapy that could potentially modify the course of this rare neurodegenerative disorder. Further studies are required to assess the clinical efficacy of deferiprone in superficial siderosis. © 2013 BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved.