Hereditary hemochromatosis is a common disorder. If the condition is identified early, treatment with therapeutic phlebotomy (when necessary) can prevent life-threatening complications, such as cirrhosis. Iron overload can be prevented completely in asymptomatic individuals with a genetic predisposition.
Bottom line
Patients should be offered genetic counseling or testing if they have either a family history of hemochromatosis or undiagnosed iron overload (transferrin saturation > 45%).
The complete Gene Messenger—Hereditary Hemochromatosis by the GenetiKit research team is available on CFPlus*. Past Gene Messenger articles can be accessed on-line at www.cfp.ca. On the homepage, click on Collections in the left-hand menu, then click on Genetics.
Acknowledgment
Funding was provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Footnotes
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Competing interests
None declared
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↵* The Gene Messenger on hereditary hemochromatosis is available at www.cfp.ca. Go to the full text of this article on-line, then click on CFPlus in the menu at the top right-hand side of the page.
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