BACKGROUND Screening for hereditary hemochromatosis is traditionally done by using serum iron studies. However, mutation analysis of the hemochromatosis-associated HFE gene has recently become available. OBJECTIVE To compare the cost-effectiveness of no screening with four screening strategies that incorporate HFE gene testing or serum iron studies. DESIGN Cost-effectiveness analysis. DAT...

There have been few studies on the mutations that cause heterozygous beta-thalassemia and how they affect the iron profile. One hundred and thirty-eight individuals were analyzed, 90 thalasemic β⁰ and 48 thalasemic β(+), identified by classical and molecular methods. Mutations in the hemochromatosis (HFE) gene, detected using PCR-RFLP, were found in 30.4% of these beta-thalassemic patients; het...

Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is an autosomal recessive disorder classically related to HFE mutations. However, since 1996, it is known that HFE mutations explain about 80% of HH cases, with the remaining around 20% denominated non-HFE hemochromatosis. Nowadays, four main genes are implicated in the pathophysiology of clinical syndromes classified as non-HFE hemochromatosis: hemojuvelin (HJV,...

Hereditary hemochromatosis is an inherited pathological condition characterized by iron overload in several vital organs including heart. To increase our understanding of the underlying pathogenic mechanisms of hereditary hemochromatosis, we used a HFE gene knockout mouse model that replicates hereditary hemochromatosis. A group of mice with no copies of HFE gene and corresponding wild-type mic...

Background: Co-inheritance of hemochromatosis (HFE) gene mutations may play an essential role in the pathogenesis of iron overload in beta-thalassemia major (BTM) patients. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of HFE C282Y and H63D mutations in BTM patients and their correlation with some demographic data and biochemical iron markers. Materials and Methods: The study populat...

Hepatic siderosis is common in patients with porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT). Mutations in the hereditary hemochromatosis (hh) gene (HFE) explain the siderosis in approximately 20% patients, suggesting that the remaining occurrences result from additional genetic and environmental factors. Two genes known to modify iron loading in hh are hepcidin (HAMP) and hemojuvelin (HJV). To determine if muta...

BACKGROUND As iron and lead promote oxidative damage, and hemochromatosis (HFE) gene polymorphisms increase body iron burden, HFE variant alleles may modify the lead burden and cognitive decline relationship. OBJECTIVE Our goal was to assess the modifying effects of HFE variants on the lead burden and cognitive decline relation in older adults. METHODS We measured tibia and patella lead usi...

Diabetes in whites of European descent with hemochromatosis was first attributed to pancreatic siderosis. Later observations revealed that the pathogenesis of diabetes in HFE hemochromatosis is multifactorial and its clinical manifestations are heterogeneous. Increased type 2 diabetes risk in HFE hemochromatosis is associated with one or more factors, including abnormal iron homeostasis and iro...

Iron participates in oxygen transport, energetic, metabolic, and immunologic processes. There are 2 main causes of iron overload: hereditary hemochromatosis which is a primary cause, is a metabolic disorder caused by mutations of genes that control iron metabolism and secondary hemochromatosis caused by multitransfusions, chronic hemolysis, and intake of iron rich food. The most common type of ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Most patients with hereditary hemochromatosis are homozygous for a Cys282AETyr mutation in the HFE gene. This mutation has been shown to impair the association of the HFE gene product with b(2)-microglobulin and to prevent its cell surface presentation in transfected COS-7 and 293 cells. This study was performed to examine the expression of HFE protein in epithelial cel...