ABSTRACT
Iron deficiency and visceral leishmaniasis are serious problems of public health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of iron deficiency, induced by the iron chelator desferrioxamine, on the course of the infection by Leishmania chagasi in BALB/c mice. Our data show that the iron chelator caused significant reduction in hemoglobin concentration of treated mice and reduction in parasite load in spleen and liver. Significant differences were not observed in the production of IFN-gamma and IL-4 among the experimental groups. In conclusion, the data reported in this paper suggest that iron deficiency may favor the host. If there is not enough iron available to the parasite, its multiplication may be reduced and infection attenuated.
Subject(s)
Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/complications , Leishmania infantum , Leishmaniasis, Visceral/complications , Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/chemically induced , Animals , Cytokines/biosynthesis , Deferoxamine/toxicity , Female , Hemoglobins/drug effects , Hemoglobins/metabolism , Leishmania infantum/drug effects , Leishmania infantum/growth & development , Leishmaniasis, Visceral/parasitology , Leishmaniasis, Visceral/pathology , Liver/drug effects , Liver/parasitology , Liver/pathology , Mice , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Random Allocation , Siderophores/toxicity , Spleen/drug effects , Spleen/parasitology , Spleen/pathologyABSTRACT
Two cases of deferoxamine toxicity are reported. One affected with auditory toxicity (severe symmetric neurosensory deafness) and the other with anterior ocular pole toxicity (cataracts). A review of the subject is included.