Described are 3-hydroxypyridin-4-ones of formula I ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 -R.sub.4, A and B are as defined in the description. The compounds have valuable pharmaceutical properties and are especially effective as chelators of iron. They can be used to treat excess iron in the bodies of warm-blooded animals.

3-Hydroxypyridin-4-ones of formula (I) ##STR1## in which R.sub.1 is a methyl, ethyl, 2-(.alpha.-methylpropionyloxy)ethyl or 2-pivoloyloxyethyl group and R.sub.2, R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 are each separately selected from hydrogen and methyl, ethyl, 2-(.alpha.-methylpropionyloxy)ethyl and 2-pivaloyloxyethyl groups with the provisos that (a) one only of R.sub.1 to R.sub.4 is either a 2-(.alpha.-methylpropionyloxy)ethyl group or a 2-pivaloyloxyethyl group, (b) at least one of R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 is other than hydrogen and (c) the total number of carbon atoms in R.sub.1 to R.sub.4 is no more than eleven, and physiologically acceptable salts thereof are of use in therapy, particularly in the treatment of conditions in which there is a toxic concentration of a metal, for example iron, in the body.

A compound of formula (I): ##STR1## wherein, R.sub.1 is independently selected from methyl and ethyl and R.sub.2 is independently selected from hydrogen, alkyl, and substituted alkyl. The compound is capable of functioning as a ligand and complexing with paramagnetic Fe(III) ion for use as a second-sphere contrast enhancing agent for magnetic resonance imaging of tissue. The present invention also relates to a method of administering the second sphere contrast agent.

The present invention is directed to methods which employ inhibition of the post-translational hypusine formation in the intracelluar protein eIF-5A, for the purpose of suppressing infections by viruses that parasitize eIF-5A so as to promote their own replication. Intentional inhibition of the post-translational formation of hypusine in infected host cells with compounds generically termed `hypusine inhibitors` not only selectively suppresses the production of viral proteins and of infectious viral particles, but also causes, particularly after hypusine inhibitor withdrawal, apoptosis in such virally-infected cells. Each of these methods, respectively, involves administering, to eukaryotic cells, tissues, or individuals, an agent which blocks the post-translational intracellular formation of hypusine, in an amount sufficient to: suppress biosynthesis of bioactive eIF-5A, suppress translational interaction of eIF-5A with viral elements of nucleic acid and/or protein structure, inhibit biosynthesis of viral proteins of Rev-dependent lentiviruses or of viruses dependent on interaction of eIF-5A with viral elements of nucleic acid and/or protein structure, inhibit replication of Rev-dependent lentiviruses or of viruses dependent on interaction of eIF-5A with viral elements of nucleic acid and/or protein structure, and induce apoptosis of virally-infected cells. This agent can be a compound of Formulae I or II and derivatives thereof as follows: ##STR1## R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3, and R.sub.4 each individually represent a hydrogen, an alkyl, alkenyl, or alkoxy group containing 1 to about 8 carbon atoms, an aryl, aralkyl, or cycloalkyl group containing about 5 to 12 carbon atoms, or a carboalkoxy or carbamyl group containing up to 8 carbon atoms, or a peptide or peptidomimetic moiety containing 10 to about 30 carbon atoms.

The invention relates generally to the gene, and mutations thereto, that are responsible for the disease hereditary hemochromatosis (HH). More particularly, the invention relates to the identification, isolation, and cloning of the DNA sequence corresponding to the normal and mutant HH genes, as well as the characterization of their transcripts and gene products. The invention also related to methods and the like for screening for HH homozygotes and further relates to HH diagnosis, prenatal screening and diagnosis, and therapies of HH disease, including gene therapeutics, protein and antibody based therapeutics, and small molecule therapeutics.