Haemochromatosis (or hemochromatosis) type 1 (also HFE hereditary haemochromatosis or HFE-related hereditary haemochromatosis) is a hereditary disease characterized by excessive intestinal absorption of dietary iron resulting in a pathological increase in total body iron stores. Humans, like most animals, have no means to excrete excess iron. Excess iron accumulates in tissues and organs disrupting their normal function. The most susceptible organs include the liver, adrenal glands, heart, skin, gonads, joints, and the pancreas; patients can present with cirrhosis, polyarthropathy, adrenal insufficiency, heart failure or diabetes. The hereditary form of the disease is most common among those of Northern European ancestry, in particular those of Celtic descent.
Read more about HFE Hereditary Haemochromatosis: Pathophysiology, Terminology, History, Signs and Symptoms, Diagnosis, End-organ Damage, Screening, Epidemiology, Genetics
Famous quotes containing the word hereditary:
“People think they have taken quite an extraordinarily bold step forward when they have rid themselves of belief in hereditary monarchy and swear by the democratic republic. In reality, however, the state is nothing but a machine for the oppression of one class by another, and indeed in the democratic republic no less than in the monarchy.”
—Friedrich Engels (1820–1895)