Chelating agents in different human diseases

The use of chelating agents to remove toxic metal ions in different human pathologies has been largely developed in the last thirty years. Up to now, the most studied chelators are those concerning the treatment of iron overload in β-talassemia, and, in a minor extent, of copper in Wilson’s disease. Nowadays the relevance of the research on chelators has furthermore increased for its applications in neurodegenerative diseases, in cancer treatment, in diabetes, in cardiac diseases and in a large number of clinical applications. In spite of the huge research efforts, the chelators in use present various drawbacks, so this topic is still a hot topic for its health, social and economical implications. For these reasons I am extremely glad for the publication in this issue of Current Medicinal Chemistry of updated reviews on metal chelators which may result of the widest interest, and I would like to thank all the authors for their substantial contribute. This special issue will address in particular (i) the application of iron chelators to the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, to cancer and to systemic iron overload; (ii) the chelation therapy for pathogenic dysregulation of copper in diabetes; (iii) chelating agents as antidotes to metal intoxication; (iv) the antimicrobial action of chelating agents and (v) their application as radiopharmaceuticals for oncological diseases.