hemochromatosis Essay

In chapter one it talks about how hemachromatosis is a hereditary disease and it’s the most common genetic disease for people of European descent, in which the body can't register that it has enough iron. So it keeps absorbing as much of it as possible, and this can have very, serious side effects (including death). Iron is very important for bacteria, cancer, and other things to grow. The way this disease is most easily treated is blood letting. Looks like all those crazy blood-letting, leech-sticking doctors weren't mistreating everyone. What is the author's argument for why this disease stuck around? To really simplify things: during the black plague in Europe, people with more iron in their system were more likely

Anemia is a disorder of the blood. It occurs when your body does not produce enough erythrocytes or red blood cells (RBCs). Without the erythrocytes oxygen can not be adequately delivered to the tissues and organs throughout the body. This will cause you to become weak and tired. A person may also experience headaches, skin pallor, and faintness. Your body may attempt to compensate for these symptoms by speeding up the heart rate and respiratory rate. This is the body’s attempt to return oxygen levels to normal(Thibodeau and Patton, 2005).

The most prominent cause of Iron Deficiency Anemia is bleeding. Blood loss from the Gastrointestinal Tract is a significant cause of anemia for both men and women. When blood is present in excrement, a gastrointestinal problem exists. Many times, people are unaware of these problems with their waste products. When they begin to feel the symptoms of anemia and undergo tests that determine that they are anemic, it begins the process of discovering more health problems. Anemia can serve as the precursor of certain diseases. There are many instances when it is merely a sign of severe disease such as a peptic ulcer disease, gastritis, hemorrhoids, angiodysplasis of the colon, and colonic adenocarcinoma (http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/sep_96/browne.htm).

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.

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 a deadly disease in which the body believes that it never has enough iron. The body, as a result is that iron is not filtered out through the intestines, it is always entering the body. This iron runs out of places to be stored, and is spread throughout the body. These iron stores eventually end up changing the body and causing damage to major organs and joints. Hemochromatosis can lead to cancer, heart failure, and a plethora of other problems.

Iron is one of the important minerals that is required for our bodies to function properly. Most of the iron in our body is found in the blood such as haemoglobin, approximately 60 -70% of the human body’s iron is found in the haemoglobin, a protein in the blood that transports oxygen. Iron is also present in muscle tissue and some enzymes. There are two types of iron in the body which are “Heme Iron” from animal products and “Non-Heme Iron” vegetables and

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 cause conditions such as “liver failure, heart failure, diabetes, arthritis,

Moalem states how the " gene for hemochromatosis is the most common genetic variant in people of Western European descent. " (Moalem 2007, pg.2). While hemochromatosis is very common in people of Western European descent, “it is very rare in African American, Asian, Hispanic, Latino or American Indian individuals.” (Coriell Institute for Medical Research, 2015). Thus showing that hemochromatosis most likely shows up in people of European descent. Moalem claims to have an explanation to why hemochromatosis shows up in people of European descent. He claims that it all boils down to the bubonic plague that kill millions of Europeans during the 14th century. Moalem (2007) believed that “the more iron in a given population, the more vulnerable that population is to the plague." This piece of information makes one wonder, if people with hemochromatosis had an excess of iron within their bodies, why weren't they all killed pout by the plague. The answer lies in the diseases itself, hemochromatosis unevenly spreads iron throughout the body and macrophages, a type of white blood cells that protect our immune system and the cells that infections such as the bubonic plague use to gain their way into our immune system, contains lower than normal levels of iron. Proving that people with hemochromatosis do actually have less iron in macrophages. Nouri (2011) says, “It is believed that the mutation results in the absence of the C282Y protein on host cell surfaces, causing an increase in the affinity of cellular receptors for transferrin (an unaffected protein in humans which carries iron in the blood) and hindering transferrin acquisition by pathogens. Yersinia pestis, like other iron-hungry bacteria, thrives in an iron rich environment. And it is thus populated

Iron-refractory iron deficiency anemia results from an inadequate amount (deficiency) of iron in the bloodstream. It is described as "iron-refractory" because the condition is totally resistant (refractory) to treatment with iron given orally and partially resistant to iron given in other ways, such as intravenously (by IV). In people with this form of anemia, red blood cells are abnormally small (microcytic) and pale (hypochromic). The symptoms of iron-refractory iron deficiency anemia

As shown in this case study, the patient was hospitalized very often due to severe acute pain caused due to microvascular occlusion. There can be two possibilities for the symptoms of pain- increase in intra-medullary pressure or periosteum of the soft tissue of her bones. Her report shows a very high serum ferritin level which is due to mutation in hemochromatosis gene (HFE). This increased the level of iron in her body. Due to abnormal liver enzymes, the liver eventually stopped carrying out its normal function causing Alanine Aminotransferase(ALT) to increase. Her ALT level was persistently increasing which means she can be suffering from acute viral hepatitis. She is suffering from diabetes due to the formation of glycated protein. She didn’t get her periods on time because of the lack oxygen being transported throughout the body. Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism can be observed in her body due to some problem in the hypothalamus or pituitary gland. The reason behind abnormal FSH, LH and Oestradiol in her body is because of iron deposition in the endocrine gland. One more reason for the increase in iron level can be due to multiple blood transfusion in her past. It is appropriate to undergo chelation therapy since her liver iron

Common effect that Haemochromtosis has on daily life is there can be joint pain stoping them doing daily life actives such as running ,cooking , shopping, doing the washing and most all house old duty are effected in one’s daily life because of the joint pain that can lead to arthritis. Abdominal pain is another symptom of Haemochromtosis which effect people daily lifestyle in that you are unable to concentrate or move freely during the day.

Hemophilia is a problem with the blood in a person that causes them to bleed not any faster than normal, but they often bleed for a longer period. Their blood is missing the clotting factor (a protein in the bloodstream that works to control bleeding). Hemophilia is quite rare; roughly 1 in every 10,000 persons are born with it. Rarely, hemophilia can be an acquired disease which just means a person is not born with it, but will develop it during their lifetime. This rarity occurs when a person's immune system forms antibodies that attack the clotting factor in the blood. The entire antibody population fights against the blood to prevent the clotting factors from working properly.