Hemochromatosis

Hemochromatosis: Introduction

Hemochromatosis is genetic disease, affecting around 1-in-200 to 1-in-300, where excessive iron builds up in the body and gradually damages various body organs. Over time it damages the joints (causing arthritis), liver (causing liver disease), heart (causing heart disease), and pancreas (causing diabetes). Because it has no early symptoms, hemochromatosis is often undiagnosed until serious organ damage causes other conditions or symptoms. Even at this stage, hemochromatosis may be overlooked as the underlying cause with a diagnosis of arthritis, liver disease, heart disease or diabetes given. This is unfortunate because hemochromatosis is usually treatable to at least stop and often to reverse the organ damage.

Symptoms of Hemochromatosis

• No early symptoms
• Non-specific symptoms - the initial symptoms are insidious and vague
• Skin color changes
• Bronze skin
• Joint pain - the most common complaint
• more symptoms...»

See full list of 15 symptoms of Hemochromatosis

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Hemochromatosis:

• High Blood Pressure: Home Testing
  • Home Blood Pressure Hypertension Tests
  • Home Blood Pressure Monitors
  • Home Heart Tests
• Heart Health: Home Testing:
  • Heart Rate Monitors
  • Irregular Heartbeat Detection
  • Heart Electrocardiogram (ECG)
  • Home Blood Pressure Testing
  • Home Cholesterol Testing
• Fatigue: Related Home Tests:
  • Home Anemia Tests
  • Home Thyroid Gland Function Tests
  • Home Adrenal Gland Function Tests
  • Home Calcium Deficiency Tests
  • Sleep Apnea Testing
  • Home HIV Tests
• Home Anemia Diagnostic Tests
• Diabetes: Related Home Testing:
  • Home Diabetes Testing
  • Home Blood Glucose Test Kits
  • Home Urine Glucose Tests
  • Home Urine Ketone Tests
  • Home Diabetes HbA1c Tests
  • Home Microalbumin Tests (Kidney)
  • Home Urine Protein Tests (Kidney)
  • Home Kidney Health Tests
  • Home Eye Health Tests
• more tests...»

Hemochromatosis: Complications

Review possible medical complications related to Hemochromatosis:

• Arthritis
• Diabetes - pancreas damage causes a form of diabetes.
  • Pancreas damage (see Pancreas symptoms)
  • Type 1 diabetes - severe pancreas damage is similar to Type 1 diabetes.
  • Type 2 Diabetes - moderate pancreas damage is similar to Type 2 diabetes.
• more complications...»

Medical Textbooks Online about Hemochromatosis

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Hemochromatosis

• Iron level blood test
• Transferrin saturation test
• Blood ferritin levels
• Total iron bind capacity (TIBC)
• Serum ferritin
• more tests...»

See full list of 13 diagnostic tests for Hemochromatosis

Wrongly Diagnosed with Hemochromatosis?

• Misdiagnosis of Hemochromatosis
• Failure to diagnose Hemochromatosis
• Hidden causes of Hemochromatosis (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Undiagnosed: Hemochromatosis

Hemochromatosis: Self Assessment Tools

• Stroke -- Self Assessment Tools
• Heart Attack -- Self Assessment Tools
• Stress -- Self Assessment Tools
• Smoking -- Self Assessment Tools
• Weight Management -- Self Assessment Tools
• Heart Disease -- Self Assessment Tools
• more tools...»

Hemochromatosis: Medical Mistakes

• Hypertension -- Health Mistakes
• Cholesterol -- Health Mistakes
• Obesity -- Health Mistakes
• Diabetes -- Health Mistakes
• Metabolic Syndrome -- Health Mistakes
• more mistakes...»

Hemochromatosis: Marketplace Products, Discounts & Offers

Products, offers and promotion categories available for Hemochromatosis:

• Dieting & Weight management: products & offers »
• Heart health products & offers »
• High cholesterol
• more product offers...»

Hemochromatosis: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed diseases in related medical categories:

• Chronic Major Diseases that are commonly Undiagnosed:
  • High Cholesterol -- Undiagnosed
  • Heart Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Cancer -- Undiagnosed
  • Depression -- Undiagnosed
  • Type 2 Diabetes -- Undiagnosed
  • Type 1 Diabetes -- Undiagnosed
  • Hypertension -- Undiagnosed
  • Hemochromatosis -- Undiagnosed
  • Metabolic Syndrome -- Undiagnosed
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Misdiagnosis and Hemochromatosis

Heart attacks can be undiagnosed: Although the most severe symptoms of heart attack are hard to miss, there are varying degrees of severity. It is altogether too common...read more »

Heart attacks can be overdiagnosed: Although many people die from heart attacks, there are also many cases where people fear that they have a heart attack, but actually have something milder....read more »

Unnecessary hysterectomies due to undiagnosed bleeding disorder in women: The bleeding disorder called Von Willebrand's disease is quite common...read more »

Rare undiagnosed iron disorder causes various severe conditions: The rare "iron overload" disorder, hemochromatosis, can cause a variety of symptoms and result in various severe conditions that mimic several of the big...read more »

Rare heart condition often undiagnosed: The rare heart condition called long QT syndrome can lead to episodes of palpitations and rapid...read more »

Heart attack can be over-diagnosed: Although heart attack is often undiagnosed, leading to fatality, it can also be over-diagnosed. People become concerned that a condition...read more »

Blood pressure cuffs misdiagnose hypertension in children: One known misdiagnosis issue with hyperension, arises in relation to the simple equipment used to test blood pressure. The "cuff" around...read more »

Hypertension misdiagnosis common in children: Hypertension is often misdiagnosed in adults (see misdiagnosis of hypertension), but its misdiagnosis is even more likely in children. Some of...read more »

Vitamin B12 deficiency under-diagnosed: The condition of Vitamin B12 deficiency is a possible misdiagnosis of various conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (see symptoms of...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Hemochromatosis

Hemochromatosis: Research Doctors & Specialists

Research related physicians and medical specialists:

• Cholesterol Specialists:
  • Clinical Lipidology (Cholesterol/Triglycerides)
  • Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism
• Cardiac (Heart) Specialists:
  • Cardiology (Heart specialists)
  • Pediatric Cardiology (Child Heart Specialists)
  • Cardiothoracic Surgery
  • Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology
  • Interventional Cardiology
• Blood Health Specialists (Hematology):
  • Hematology (Blood Specialists)
  • Pediatric Hematology / Oncology (Child Cancer/Leukemia)
  • Hematopathology (Blood Diagnostics)
• more specialists...»

Other doctor, physician and specialist research services:

• Rate Your Doctor Online
• Research Your Doctor Online
• Review Patient Surveys About Your Doctor
• Research local specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

Hospitals & Clinics: Hemochromatosis

Research quality ratings and patient safety measures for medical facilities in specialties related to Hemochromatosis:

• Heart Health (Cardiac Care) -- Hospital Quality Ratings
• more hospital ratings...»

Hospital & Clinic quality ratings » »

Choosing the Best Hospital: More general information, not necessarily in relation to Hemochromatosis, on hospital performance and surgical care quality:

• 50 Best Hospitals Report
• Outstanding Patient Experinece Award Winning Hospitals
• Women's Health Best Hospitals
• Patient Safety
• Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence Study (2009)

Hemochromatosis: Rare Types

Rare types of diseases and disorders in related medical categories:

• Chronic Major Diseases -- Rare Types:
  • High Cholesterol -- Rare Types
  • Heart Disease -- Rare Types
  • Cancer -- Rare Types
  • Depression -- Rare Types
  • Type 2 Diabetes -- Rare Types
  • Type 1 Diabetes -- Rare Types
  • Hypertension -- Rare Types
  • Hemochromatosis -- Rare Types
  • Metabolic Syndrome -- Rare Types
• more rare diseases...»

Causes of Hemochromatosis

• Hereditary hemochromatosis
• Vitamin C overuse
• Blood transfusions
• Iron injections
• Iron supplements
• more causes...»

Read more about causes of Hemochromatosis

More information about causes of Hemochromatosis:

• Medications, drugs, or substances causing Hemochromatosis (3 listings)
• Underlying causes of Hemochromatosis
• Hemochromatosis as a complication caused by other conditions
• Hemochromatosis as a symptom
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Hemochromatosis

Treatments for Hemochromatosis

• Phlebotomy (bloodletting) - similar to donating blood
• Avoid iron supplements
• Avoid vitamin C - because vitamin C increases iron digestion.
• Avoid alcohol - to avoid exacerbating liver damage
• Avoiding high-iron foods - simply eat less iron.
• more treatments...»

See full list of 9 treatments for Hemochromatosis

Latest Treatments for Hemochromatosis

• Repeated phlebotomy
• Avoid alcohol
• Avoid iron fortified foods
• more treatments...»

Read more about the latest treatments for Hemochromatosis

News Archives for Hemochromatosis

Medical news articles related to Hemochromatosis include:

• Data Overload May Complicate Insurance Choices
• more health news...»

Source: HealthDay News

Videos for Hemochromatosis

Patient Surveys for Hemochromatosis

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Hemochromatosis
  Take Survey  View Results

Prognosis for Hemochromatosis

More about prognosis of Hemochromatosis

Reseach about Hemochromatosis

Visit our research pages for current research about Hemochromatosis treatments.

Clinical Trials for Hemochromatosis

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Hemochromatosis include:

• Iron Overload in African Americans - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Study Using Deferiprone Alone or in Combination With Desferrioxamine in Iron Overloaded Transfusion-Dependent Patients - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Deferiprone (L1),Desferrioxamine
• Study With Deferiprone and/or Desferrioxamine in Iron Overloaded Patients - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Deferiprone (L1),Desferrioxamine
• Treatment of Hemochromatosis - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Cardiac Function in Patients With Hereditary Hemochromatosis - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• more trials...»

See full list of 51 Clinical Trials for Hemochromatosis

Statistics for Hemochromatosis

• Medical statistics for Hemochromatosis
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Hemochromatosis
• Death and Mortality statistics for Hemochromatosis
• Society statistics for Hemochromatosis

Hemochromatosis: Broader Related Topics

• Liver conditions
• Chronic liver disease
• Rheumatic conditions
• more types...»

Types of Hemochromatosis

Types of Hemochromatosis

• Hereditary Hemochromatosis - the genetic form from the HFE gene
• Juvenile hemochromatosis - occurs age 15-30
• Neonatal hemochromatosis - occurs in infants
• more types...»

Read more about Types of Hemochromatosis

Stories from Users Related to Hemochromatosis

• Hemochromatosis
• Can Iron do that?
• Osteoarthritis Warning! Hemochromatosis.
• hemochromatosis
• Hemochromatosis

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Hemochromatosis, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Hemochromatosis

Hemochromatosis, the most common form of iron overload disease, is an inherited disorder that causes the body to absorb and store too much iron. The extra iron builds up in organs and damages them. Without treatment, the disease can cause these organs to fail. (Source: excerpt from Hemochromatosis: NIDDK)

Definitions of Hemochromatosis:

A disorder due to the deposition of hemosiderin in the parenchymal cells, causing tissue damage and dysfunction of the liver, pancreas, heart, and pituitary. Full development of the disease in women is restricted by menstruation, pregnancy, and lower dietary intake of iron. Acquired hemochromatosis may be the result of blood transfusions, excessive dietary iron, or secondary to other disease. Idiopathic or genetic hemochromatosis is an autosomal recessive disorder of metabolism associated with a gene tightly linked to the A locus of the HLA complex on chromosome 6. (From Dorland, 27th ed) - (Source - Diseases Database)

Pathology in which iron accumulates in the tissues; characterized by bronzed skin and enlarged liver and diabetes mellitus and abnormalities of the pancreas and the joints - (Source - WordNet 2.1)