Tuesday, February 10, 2009

What are the symptoms of hemochromatosis?

The most common complaint of hemochromatosis patients is joint pain. Other symptoms that commonly occur are:
- fatigue
- a lack of energy
- abdominal pain
- loss of sex drive
- heart problems

However, since quite often the disease is detected by coincidence, many people have no symptoms when they are diagnosed.

If the disease is not diagnosed and treated early enough, the excessive iron will accumulate in the body and will lead to serious problems such as

- arthritis
- liver disease (enlarged liver, cirrhosis, cancer, liver failure)
- damage to the pancreas
- diabetes
- heart abnormalities (irregular heart rhythms, congestive heart failure)
- impotence
- early menopause
- abnormal pigmentation of the skin (gray or bronze)
- thyroid deficiency
- damage to the adrenal glands

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

What is Hemochromatosis anyway?

This is how Wikipedia describes it:

Haemochromatosis, also spelled hemochromatosis, also called hereditary haemochromatosis, siderophilia and bronze diabetes, is a hereditary disease characterized by excessive absorption of dietary iron resulting in a pathological increase in total body iron stores. Humans, like virtually all animals, have no means to excrete excess iron. Excess iron accumulates in tissues and organs disrupting their normal function. The most susceptible organs include the liver, adrenal glands, the heart and the pancreas; patients can present with cirrhosis, adrenal insufficiency, heart failure or diabetes. The hereditary form of the disease is most common among those of Northern European ancestry, in particular those of British or Irish descent.

Haemochromatosis less often refers to the condition of iron overload as a consequence of multiple transfusions. More preferred terms in the United States include for transfusional iron overload or hemosiderosis used synonymously. Those with hereditary anemias such as beta-thalassemia major, sickle cell anemia, and Diamond-Blackfan anemia who require regular transfusions of red blood cells are all at risk for developing life-threatening iron overload. Older patients with various forms of bone marrow failure such as with myelodysplastic syndrome who become transfusion-dependent are also at risk for iron overload.