BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Dementia and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Quantitative evaluation of iron chelator effects on central motor and sensory tracts in superficial siderosis
Provisionally accepted
Ryo Iwase1,2
NOBUO SANJO1,2*
Tadashi Kanouchi1,2
Yurie Nose1,2
Miho Akaza1,2Motonori Hashimoto1,2Satoru Egawa1,2
Toshitaka Yoshii1,2Takanori Yokota1,2- 1Institute of Science Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- 2Tokyo Kagaku Daigaku - Yushima Campus, Bunkyo, Japan
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Abstract Background Superficial siderosis (SS) is a rare neurodegenerative disease characterized by hemosiderin deposition in the central nervous system, leading to progressive neuronal degeneration. Although myelopathy is a main clinical manifestation in SS, objective biomarkers for monitoring disease progression and treatment remain unclarified. We assessed electrophysiology of central motor and sensory conduction in patients with SS before and after iron chelator administration. Methods In this controlled trial, we evaluated 12 patients with SS (mean follow-up: 33.6 months [range: 18.9– 36.1]), who underwent dural repair, and 9 with multiple sclerosis as controls. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) were used to assess motor and sensory conduction, respectively. Eight patients with SS received oral iron chelator deferiprone (1,500 mg/day), whereas four underwent surgical repair without iron chelation. Primary outcomes were changes in central motor conduction time (CMCT), motor evoked potential (MEP) amplitude, and central sensory conduction time (CCT). Results At baseline, 92% and 100% of patients with SS exhibited prolonged CMCT and CCT, respectively. Prolonged conduction in patients with SS was less severe than in those with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Keywords: central motor tracts, central sensory tracts, Iron chelator, Quantitative evaluation, Superficial siderosis
Received: 29 Oct 2025; Accepted: 13 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Iwase, SANJO, Kanouchi, Nose, Akaza, Hashimoto, Egawa, Yoshii and Yokota. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: NOBUO SANJO
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