What is hemochromatosis?

Answer 1

Intro:


Of all the minerals you need for good health, iron is one of the most familiar. After all, the producers of everything from breakfast cereals to vitamin tonics tell us that iron builds rich, red blood. Iron does help form oxygen-carrying hemoglobin in your red blood cells, but it's also essential for a number of other body processes, including proper brain function, a strong immune system and healthy muscles. Yet for people with hereditary hemochromatosis (HH), even small amounts of iron can cause serious problems.

That's because hereditary hemochromatosis causes your body to absorb too much iron from the food you eat. The excess is stored in your organs, especially your liver, heart and pancreas. Sometimes the stored iron damages these organs, leading to life-threatening conditions such as cancer, heart problems and liver disease.

Signs and symptoms of hereditary hemochromatosis usually appear in midlife, although they may occur earlier. The most common complaint is joint pain, but hereditary hemochromatosis can also cause a number of other symptoms, including fatigue, abdominal pain and impotence. Though not always easy to diagnose, hereditary hemochromatosis can be effectively treated by removing blood from your body to lower the level of iron.


Go the site below for more detailed information on this hereditary disease:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hemochromatosis/DS00455/DSECTION=2

Answer 2

According to the book "Survival of the Sickest" not only is it a condition that causes problems today in people, it may have given our ancestors immunity to the Plague.

The reason for this is that the iron that pools in the joints and the liver (when you have hemochromatosis) is pulled away from the white blood cells. The bacteria that causes the Plague can normally hijack extra iron from the white blood cells allowing them to actually fight your immune system more viciously. People with hemochromatosis don't have this problem because their white blood cells don't have iron (or not as much anyway).

Because women loose blood monthly and men use to get in a lot more fights, the negative effects of this condition weren't seen until much later in life.

Answer 3

Haemochromatosis, also spelled hemochromatosis, is a hereditary disease characterized by improper dietary iron metabolism (making it a iron overload disorder), which causes the accumulation of iron in a number of body tissues.[1] Iron accumulation can eventually cause end organ damage, most importantly in the pancreas manifesting as diabetes, and liver failure.

Hereditary hemochromatosis is the concept that known, measurable genetic mutations can be passed from generation to generation and cause iron accumulation, though not all clinical iron overload is associated with known hereditary markers, and not all hereditary markers cause significant iron overload. Semantically, therefore, the condition of a hereditary mutation in the iron metabolism genetic apparatus is not synonymous with clinical iron overload, though the term “hemochromatosis” is used to encompass both these concepts.

Answer 4

Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH), the most common form of iron overload disease, is an inherited disorder that causes the body to absorb and store too much iron. Excess iron is stored throughout the body in organs and tissues including the pancreas, liver, and skin. Without treatment, the iron deposits can damage these organs and tissues.

Answer 5

Hemochromatosis is a hereditary disorder affecting iron metabolism in which excessive amounts of iron accumulate in the body tissues. The disorder is characterized by diabetes melitus, liver dysfunction, and a bronze pigmentation of the skin.

Answer 6

Hemochromatosis is the most common form of iron overload disease. Primary hemochromatosis, also called hereditary hemochromatosis, is an inherited disease. Secondary hemochromatosis is caused by anemia, alcoholism, and other disorders.

Juvenile hemochromatosis and neonatal hemochromatosis are two additional forms of the disease. Juvenile hemochromatosis leads to severe iron overload and liver and heart disease in adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15 and 30. The neonatal form causes rapid iron buildup in a baby’s liver that can lead to death.

Illustration of the digestive system with heart, liver, and pancreas highlighted.
Excess iron is stored in body tissues, specifically the liver, heart, and pancreas.

Hemochromatosis causes the body to absorb and store too much iron. The extra iron builds up in the body’s organs and damages them. Without treatment, the disease can cause the liver, heart, and pancreas to fail.

Iron is an essential nutrient found in many foods. The greatest amount is found in red meat and iron-fortified breads and cereals. In the body, iron becomes part of hemoglobin, a molecule in the blood that transports oxygen from the lungs to all body tissues.

Healthy people usually absorb about 10 percent of the iron contained in the food they eat, which meets normal dietary requirements. People with hemochromatosis absorb up to 30 percent of iron. Over time, they absorb and retain between five to 20 times more iron than the body needs.

Because the body has no natural way to rid itself of the excess iron, it is stored in body tissues, specifically the liver, heart, and pancreas.

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What causes hemochromatosis?

Hereditary hemochromatosis is mainly caused by a defect in a gene called HFE, which helps regulate the amount of iron absorbed from food. The two known mutations of HFE are C282Y and H63D. C282Y is the most important. In people who inherit C282Y from both parents, the body absorbs too much iron and hemochromatosis can result. Those who inherit the defective gene from only one parent are carriers for the disease but usually do not develop it; however, they still may have higher than average iron absorption. Neither juvenile hemochromatosis nor neonatal hemochromatosis are caused by an HFE defect. Juvenile and neonatal hemochromatosis are caused by a mutation in a gene called hemojuvelin.

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What are the risk factors of hemochromatosis?

Hereditary hemochromatosis is one of the most common genetic disorders in the United States. It most often affects Caucasians of Northern European descent, although other ethnic groups are also affected. About five people out of 1,000—0.5 percent—of the U.S. Caucasian population carry two copies of the hemochromatosis gene and are susceptible to developing the disease. One out of every 8 to 12 people is a carrier of one abnormal gene. Hemochromatosis is less common in African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and American Indians.

Although both men and women can inherit the gene defect, men are more likely than women to be diagnosed with hereditary hemochromatosis at a younger age. On average, men develop symptoms and are diagnosed between 30 to 50 years of age. For women, the average age of diagnosis is about 50.

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What are the symptoms of hemochromatosis?

Joint pain is the most common complaint of people with hemochromatosis. Other common symptoms include fatigue, lack of energy, abdominal pain, loss of sex drive, and heart problems. However, many people have no symptoms when they are diagnosed.

If the disease is not detected and treated early, iron may accumulate in body tissues and eventually lead to serious problems such as

* arthritis
* liver disease, including an enlarged liver, cirrhosis, cancer, and liver failure
* damage to the pancreas, possibly causing diabetes
* heart abnormalities, such as irregular heart rhythms or congestive heart failure
* impotence
* early menopause
* abnormal pigmentation of the skin, making it look gray or bronze
* thyroid deficiency
* damage to the adrenal glands

Answer 7

1

Answer 8

A genetic condition of massive iron overload leading to cirrhosis and/or other tissue damage, attributable to iron.

http://www.chemicool.com/definition/hemochromatosis.html

best answer???

Answer 9

having too much iron in our blood.