Hemochromatosis Research Papers

Type 1 Diabetes effects millions of people around the world (Michel & Montada-Atin, 2014). Most often, a person is diagnosed before their 30th birthday, with diagnosis commonly being between 11 and 13 years of age (Michel & Montada-Atin, 2014). Diabetes is a disease of the pancreas. More specifically, the breakdown of β cells in the pancreas causes the production of insulin to cease (Michel & Montada-Atin, 2014). Once the body is unable to

Iron Deficiency Anemia affects millions of individuals across the world. This disease strikes many more women than men and has harmful effects on all who suffer from this deficiency that causes oxygen-carrying capacity to decrease. The causes can vary amongst different groups, but the aggravating symptoms remain constant. Much of the research on Iron Deficiency Anemia concentrates on not only the treatment of this disease, but also the prevention of it. To attain a better understanding of how to treat this problem, one must clearly know what Iron Deficiency Anemia means, what causes this disease, the effects of it, and finally how to cure it.

Hemochromatosis is a genetic disease in which there is too much iron that builds up in your body, this is referred to as an iron overload. Iron is an essential nutrient found in many foods but can be toxic to our bodies if we have to much. “Normally, humans absorb about 8-10% of the iron found in foods that they eat.” People with Hemochromatosis can absorb up to four times more iron than a normal human being. Since our bodies have no natural way to get rid of the extra iron, it gets stored in your body tissue including the liver, heart, pancreas and many other areas of our body can also be infected by this iron overload.

People may not know they have hemochromatosis since in the early stages they may not have any symptoms. In this stage, the only way the disorder can be detected is through routine blood tests and the doctor noticing elevated iron levels in the blood. Usually, the first and most common symptoms of hemochromatosis is joint pain and fatigue, but these are symptoms which occur in several other diseases and disorders, so the diagnosis is frequently held up or even overlooked. “Pain in the knuckles of the pointer and middle finger, collectively called ‘The Iron Fist,’ is the only sign or symptom specific to hemochromatosis. However, not everyone with HHC experiences the Iron Fist” (“WHAT IS HEMOCHROMATOSIS?” n.d.).

The first disease Moalem discusses, hemochromatosis, is a hereditary disorder that he himself lives with. It causes excess iron buildup throughout the body, damaging “the joints, the major organs, and overall body chemistry” (p. 13). Hemochromatosis can lead to “liver failure, heart failure, diabetes, arthritis, infertility, psychiatric disorders[, ...] cancer” (p. 13) and, in the end, death. Although it is more common in some communities than others, today the low-penetrance disease only manifests in 1 in 200 people.

Sharon Moalem discusses is hemochromatosis. Hemochromatosis is a disorder that disrupts iron metabolization, by absorbing excess iron instead of passing it through the body, causing iron to build up in the organs, especially the liver, heart and pancreas. The symptoms are joint pain, fatigue, and weakness. It was first described by Armand Trousseau in 1865, but is thought to have originated with the Vikings and spread throughout Northern and Western Europe. The genetic variant for hemochromatosis is very common among people of Western European descent, but only one in two hundred of those people have the disease with all of the assorted symptoms. Hemochromatosis can be diagnosed through blood and genetic tests, and it can be treated through the ancient practice of phlebotomy, or bloodletting. This lowers the amount of iron in the blood, and in the body, to safe levels. But although it is easily treatable, if left unchecked, hemochromatosis can lead to serious complications. As Dr. Moalem says, “Unchecked, hemochromatosis can lead to liver failure, heart failure, diabetes, arthritis, infertility, psychiatric disorders, and even cancer. Unchecked, hemochromatosis will lead to death.” Thus, before the days of genetic and blood testing, hemochromatosis was a very dangerous disease, and often caused death in middle age. It is here that Dr. Moalem raises the question: if hemochromatosis was so deadly, why was it passed down for so many generations? Unless it provided our ancestors with an advantage, such a damaging disease would not have remained in their gene

The proband’s family history consist of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes; especially the females within her maternal linage. Family histories where type 1 and type 2 diabetes co-occur happens often (Nogueira, 2013). Both types of diabetes are caused by a loss of physical or functional beta cell mass (Nogueira, 2013). Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is due to an autoimmune process and type 2 diabetes (T2D)

Hemochromatosis, also called iron overload, is a disease when the body absorbs too much iron from the food we eat and most often affects the liver, heart, pancreas, and skin. It is usually caused by genes in the body that mutate keeping them from working. Some signs and symptoms of this disease are weakness, joint pain, low libido, and/or if the disease has progressed to far diabetes or heart failure. Hemochromatosis is one of the more difficult diseases to diagnose because many symptoms are nonspecific and usually many people don’t show as many symptoms except elevated iron levels in their blood. Most will be treated with blood transfusions until the normal level of iron is reached. If diagnosed early the prognosis is excellent with possible checkups or phlebotomies.

Take hemochromatosis, a hereditary condition that causes iron to accumulate in a person's body. A person having hemochromatosis

Hemochromatosis is when there is excess iron in the body. It is a genetic disorder that is passed down each generation and is inherited by the offspring. Iron overload directly affects the circulatory system but eventually the complications can affect the whole body and many major organs. In addition, hemochromatosis can show no symptoms but the body sometimes shows

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder, in which the pancreas does not produce insulin. It usually begins in childhood or adolescence. In Type 1 diabetes, the body’s immune system destroys beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that converts sugar, starches, and food into energy. Without insulin, blood glucose levels become too high, which is known as hyperglycemia. To prevent hyperglycemia, people with Type 1 diabetes must take insulin daily to survive. Genetic and environmental factors affect the onset of Type 1 diabetes. [1] According to the American Diabetes Association, a predisposition to Type 1 diabetes is

The treatment for haemochromatosis is very simple. By having regular phlebotomies, blood extractions, the iron levels throughout the body can dramatically decrease. This is because taking out blood also extracts the iron in that blood. Therefore the body needs to put the iron in storage to use, which decrease the size of these storages and helps the body to return to a state of balance. There is research being done into a medication that could stimulate the same actions as hepcidin, but since it an only recently discovered hormone, the tests are still in the early

Hemochromatosis can be treated through a process called bloodletting. It is a practice where a patient is purposely bled. Regularly bleeding a hemochromatosis patient can reduce their iron to normal amounts, which prevents severe damage to the organs. Therefore, although hemochromatosis leads to death in a few decades, “it will protect us from a disease that is killing everyone else long before

Haemochromatosis is an inherited disease due to excess iron in the body. It manifests itself by discoloration of the skin, liver abnormalities and diabetes.

Iron deficiency anemia is quite common in children, as iron is needed to support growth. A lack of iron in the diet can cause delays in brain development, which may be irreversible. Common symptoms of iron deficiency anemia include irritability, palor, weakness, and cold hands and feet. Prevention of anemia is crucial for expectant mothers, as anemic women are at a higher risk for delivery complications such as hemorrhaging and having infants of low-birth weight. (Frantz, C. 2010).