Lifting the iron curtain of vision

Ocular and specifically retinal toxicities of systemic medications are prevalent and encompass many disease modalities. For many of these pharmaceuticals, established follow-up protocols are in place to ensure timely detection and cessation of therapy. However, while for some disorders, cessation of therapy is a viable option due to existing treatment alternatives, for some others cessation of treatment can be life threatening and/or shorten the patient's life expectancy. Such is the case for iron chelating agents used in transfusion-dependent patients of Thalassemia, of which deferoxamine (DFO) is the most widely used. In their recent article in EMBO Molecular Medicine, Kong et al (2023) addressed the issue of DFO-induced retinal toxicity used both in vivo and in vitro techniques. Their study suggests a potentially protective role for alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) supplementation against DFO toxicity.