Be Aware of Hemochromatosis the Iron Overload Disease
Hemochromatosis gets its name from "hemo" for blood and "chroma" for colour, referring to the characteristic bronze skin tone caused by iron overload. It is a genetic disease that causes the body to absorb and store too much iron. Skin tone is not a reliable indicator for hemochromatosis as many sufferers do not exhibit the bronze colouration.
Hemochromatosis causes excess iron storage in several different organs of the body including the liver, pancreas, endocrine glands, heart, skin, joints, and intestinal lining. This build-up of iron can lead to serious complications, is associated with hepatic cirrhosis, primary liver cancer, diabetes mellitus, other endocrinopathy, arthropathy, and cardiomyopathy and with reduced longevity.
5% of cirrhosis cases are estimated to be caused by hereditary hemochromatosis. 20% of patients who have cirrhosis due to hereditary hemochromatosis have a chance of developing diabetes. Cirrhosis can also cause a number of complications that can ultimately lead to liver failure, death or an increased risk of developing liver cancer. Liver disease is often worse in hemochromatosis sufferers who also have chronic hepatitis or are alcoholics.
Because hemochromatosis is considered rare, doctors may not think to test for it so it is often undiagnosed and untreated. If it is detected early, hemochromatosis is manageable. However, by the time symptoms become evident, severe organ damage will have occurred. As symptoms develop only after tissue injury, to diagnosis hemochromatosis before symptoms develop.
Because the initial symptoms can be diverse, vague and mimic the symptoms of many other diseases, patients with early hemochromatosis do not exhibit any symptoms. Many people are totally unaware of their condition because they have no symptoms when they are diagnosed.
Symptoms of hemochromatosis begin to occur when the body has stored 20 grams or more of iron, which can take 4 to 6 decades. Symptoms are often seen in men between the ages of 30 and 50 and in women over 50, although some people may develop problems by age 20. Since females lose iron through menstrual blood loss, they develop organ damage from iron accumulation 15 to 20 years later than men on average.
Because iron build-up is often present and silently causing problems in men, women, adolescents and in rare cases children long before symptoms occur, hereditary hemochromatosis should not be considered a disease of only men and older people.
There are two forms of the disease that are not caused by an HFE defect, juvenile hemochromatosis and neonatal hemochromatosis. Adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15 and 30 can suffer from the juvenile form. It leads to severe iron overload and liver and heart disease. The neonatal form causes rapid iron build-up in an infant's liver which can lead to death.
Treatment for hereditary hemochromatosis is by removing blood (phlebotomy) from the patient in order to lower the level of iron. Initially, there is a de-ironing phase, where the patients frequently have phlebotomy until the iron stores are normalised. During this initial stage, up to half a litre of blood may be removed from the body each week. After normalisation, treatment may only be several times a year. Treatment, if begun early enough, will reverse most if not all of the symptoms and return the patient to a normal life span. Treatment is life-long.
With 1 in 10 of the population being a carrier, and 1 in every 200 to 300 being a sufferer, a significant percentage of the population is at risk from hemochromatosis. This worldwide genetic disorder has a high incidence in populations of Northern European origins. It is important that you get tested if you have a family history of the disease. Fortunately with increased awareness this is now happening. It is important to diagnose hemochromatosis early as it can be treated easily.
Article Source: http://www.search-raven.com
About the Author
Hemochromatosis -Too much iron is destroying the wellness of many. Most people, including doctors, do not know of this disease. For more Iron Overload Information, visit Dr Chris Whittington's site.
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License, which means you may freely reprint it, in its entirety, provided you include the author's resource box along with LIVE links (without "nofollow" tags).
by: PeterWhittington
Total views: 21
Word Count: 615
Rating: Not yet rated