Conditions in which there is a generalised increase in the iron stores of liver, without demonstrable tissue damage. The name refers to the presence of stainable iron in the tissue in the form of haemosiderin.
The weight of liver biopsies ranged from 0.49g to 6.81g (mean 3.15g) with a dry weight ranging from 7.8% to 37.3%. Forty-five patients showed liver damage with an inflammatory situation due to active chronic hepatitis (13 patients), persistent chronic hepatitis (14) or cirrhosis; other 24 patients showed aspecific alterations of the liver or a normal picture out of liver siderosis. Grade of liver siderosis before treatment with L1 was reported in Table 1; 11 patients had grade I, 16 grade II, 27 grade III and 15 grade IV.
Mazza, P., et al. (1998). ‘Oral iron chelating therapy. A single center interim report on deferiprone (L1) in thalassemia’. Haematologica 83(6):496-501. (RISCEN48)