What is the drug being trialled and why is this drug an important target?

Deferiprone is a drug already used to remove excess iron in the body in people who have certain blood disorders. Deferiprone is in a class of medications called iron chelators. The drug works by attaching itself to iron molecules in the body so the excess iron can then be excreted. It is believed that excess iron in the part of the brain affected by Parkinson’s (the substantia nigra) may cause neuronal death (Forni et al., 2008). Deferiprone easily breaches the human brain's protective layer (the blood-brain barrier) crossing from the bloodstream into the brain, and in so doing can remove the excess iron which may be harmful to brain neurones.


It is believed that high levels of iron in the substantia nigra of people with Parkinson’s (PD) cause oxidative stress in neurones resulting in their demise. Oxidative stress is essentially an imbalance between the production of highly chemically reactive substances in cells and the ability of the body to counteract or detoxify their harmful effects, resulting in cell damage or death. For many years, oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction have been considered as one of the main mechanisms involved in cell death in PD and oxidative stress is exacerbated by free iron. Chelation (removal) of this free iron has powerful antioxidant effects known to dramatically increase cell survival, and it is hoped that decreasing the levels of iron in the brain will improve symptoms and decrease the rate of disease progression.

What will this trial investigate?

It is hoped that this trial will demonstrate for the first time in a large phase 3, multicentre, parallel-group, placebo-controlled, randomly selected trial that iron chelation with the drug Deferiprone will slow down the progression of the disease in PD patients. A nine month treatment period will be followed by a one month post-treatment monitoring period in order to assess the disease-modifying effect in the absence of Deferiprone versus placebo. The Movement Disorders Society - Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) will be used which encompasses movement, cognition behaviour and activities of daily living.

What we envisage will happen after the trial?



For more information about the trial and how to get involved click here.