More men suffer from inherited iron overload: study

[Celebration]

http://in.reuters.com/article/health/idINT14613120080117

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A study in Australia has shown that an inherited disorder, which causes iron overload, is more common than previously thought and that more men go on to develop the potentially fatal disease and other complications.

Hereditary hemochromatosis causes the body to absorb up to three times the normal amount of iron. Over the years, the excess iron builds up in vital organs, joints and tissues, where it can cause debilitating and potentially fatal conditions, including liver and heart disease, diabetes and arthritis.

The disorder is linked to a certain defective gene called C282Y, and people who inherit two copies of this gene, one from each parent, would be susceptible to the disease.

Previous studies have shown that one in 200 people with northern European ancestry have this genetic marker, but it was never clear what percentage of people with these defective genes go on to develop the disease. Some estimates have put the percentage at less than 1 percent.

But a 12-year study in Australia found that the far more men, or 28.4 percent, eventually developed the disease, compared to only 1.2 percent of women with the defective genes.

[Celebration]

1. Blood Loss Improves Insulin Sensitivity

http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/results.php?storyarticle=5474

Senior investigator, Dr. Melania Manco states that, "We have observed that treating patients with phenotypic features of iron overload and diabetes by iron depletion can ameliorate glucose metabolism."

Dr. Manco of Bambino Gesu Hospital and Research Institute, Rome and colleagues studied 17 HFE mutation carriers. Nine were glucose tolerant and eight were diabetic.

The patients were evaluated every 2 weeks and underwent regular phlebotomy. Blood volume was restored using normal saline.

After 2 years, circulating iron was reduced by 26% in the glucose-tolerant patients and by 54% in the diabetics. The corresponding values for increased insulin secretion were 20% and 33%, and for insulin sensitivity, 25% and 18%.
Liver iron content fell by 126% in the glucose-tolerant group and by 61% in the diabetic group. There was also a significant amelioration of fatty liver disease activity in both groups.