Affiliation:
1. Department of Transfusion Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Abstract
Abstract
Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) due to homozygosity for the C282Y mutation in the HFE gene is a common inherited iron overload disorder in whites of northern European descent. Hepcidin deficiency, the hallmark of the disorder, leads to dysregulated intestinal iron absorption and progressive iron deposition in the liver, heart, skin, endocrine glands, and joints. Survival is normal if organ damage is prevented by early institution of phlebotomy therapy. HH arthropathy is the symptom most affecting quality of life and can be debilitating. Genotype screening in large population studies has shown that the clinical penetrance of C282Y homozygosity is highly variable and can be very low, with up to 50% of women and 20% of men showing a silent phenotype. Targeted population screening for the HFE C282Y mutation is not recommended at present, but might be reconsidered as a cost-effective approach to management if counseling and care were better organized and standardized. Referral of patients to the blood center for phlebotomy therapy and use of HH donor blood for transfusion standardizes treatment, minimizes treatment costs, and may benefit society as a whole. Physician practices should be amended such that HH subjects are more frequently referred to the blood center for therapy.
Publisher
American Society of Hematology
Cited by
21 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献