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Iron Overload Complications

Iron overload, a disease more clinically known as hereditary hemochromatosis, is a relatively common genetic disorder where the body absorbs more iron than it loses, causing the mineral to accumulate in specific areas of the body and cause damage to various organs. Iron overload is expected to affect one in 240 Caucasian males. If you believe you have iron overload, contact a physician immediately for proper tests.

  1. Genetics of Iron Overload

    • Iron overload is a genetic disorder than can only be transmitted via inheritance of abnormal genes from both parents. If the child inherits abnormal genes from both sets of parents there is an excellent chance they will develop the disease. It cannot develop of the child receives the abnormal gene from only one parent.

    Iron Overload Diagnosis

    • Luckily, iron overload is usually diagnosed early as part of a routine test of the iron levels in the blood. The test will return with abnormally high levels of the mineral. It can also be discovered through routine screening of children of parents with the abnormal gene. Symptoms of hereditary hemochromatosis do not usually appear until much later in life.

    Iron Overload Complications

    • As the iron accumulates in the body, it settles in areas like the testes, heart, liver, and pancreas. Once the iron has settled into these organs and increases in amount through the years, it can begin damaging the organs and causing severe complication. Iron in the testes can result in impotence and testicular shrinkage. Iron in the heart can develop cause heart attacks and deposits in the liver can cause cirrhosis and liver cancer. If the iron deposits in the pancreas, it can cause diabetes. If gone untreated, the complications from iron overload could lead to death.

    Iron Overload Treatment

    • The most common way to treat iron overload is to reduce the amount of iron in the body. This can be done through diet by eating foods low in iron or through the withdrawal of blood. Patients with iron overload will typically have blood withdrawals once a month or every few weeks depending on severity. There is no cure for iron overload and can only be controlled through diet and blood withdrawal.

    Men versus women

    • Symptoms of iron overload do not typically show up until the 40s or 50s in most men and 15-20 years later in women. Men have a tendency to eat more foods high in iron and women lose more iron than men through both menstruation and breast feeding.

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