This is a pop quiz to see the doctor next time: What is the most common genetic diseases in the West? If the answer you get is cystic fibrosis or muscular dystrophy, you need to educate your doctor. The correct answer is hemochromatosis. That is not a new answer. Consider that the incidence of hereditary hemochromatosis is listed in the "blood cell, molecule, disease" column of 1995. "It is far superior to known diseases such as cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy.
Hereditary hemochromatosis is called Celtic curse because of its high prevalence among people of Celtic ancestry (If you are on the right side of the North Atlantic, Celtic curses are hereditary hemoglobin Chromatosis is called). But it is important to note that there is no need to have an Irish or Scottish ancestor suffering from this condition. Unless you are diagnosed and funded early, hemochromatosis causes correct metabolic disturbances known as iron overload, so there is a correct word. What happened?
Since the body can not remove extra iron, it adheres to organs such as the liver, pancreas, heart and joints and impairs normal function. Liver cancer, diabetes, myocardial dysfunction and joint disorder are the consequences. (Source: Heidelberg University Hospital)
According to the Canadian Hemochromatosis Association, "If you do damage the internal organs with excessive iron without any intervention, there is a possibility that serious diseases threatening life will occur." These include diabetes and congestive heart failure as well as complications such as liver cirrhosis as well as liver cancer and internal bleeding.
Despite the fact that this condition is fatal and there is a high possibility that more than one million Americans are in this state, very few Americans, and miserably American doctors know little not. However, before this role in mad cow disease plays a role, it is necessary to know that there is good news about hereditary hemochromatosis.
The first part of good news is cheap and manageable iron overload. You just give blood. If the level of iron in your blood is too high, you may have to give blood at a frequency of once every 56 days than the normal maximum. In that case, the doctor can prescribe the schedule of therapeutic blood collection (blood collection). For some patients, this may be one more weekly from the beginning, but as the level of iron decreases, there is a tendency to reduce drawing frequently (frequent blood tests to check iron levels are included ).
The second good news about hereditary hemochromatosis is that the disease test is certainly cheap. Genetic testing of hereditary hemochromatosis takes about 200 dollars. Such an examination can be arranged by your ordinary doctor or done at home. The latter option aims to know the potentially fatal genetic condition of people and insurance companies concerned about privacy.
Not all cases of hemochromatosis are hereditary. There is a non-genetic test that can point iron overload whatever the cause, and these are surely inexpensive and easy. Blood tests, sometimes called iron-based profiles, measure serum ferritin (SF) and transferrin saturation (TS) or total iron binding capacity. Serum ferritin and transferrin saturation measurements reflect how much iron is contained in the body and how much is being transported and stored. If the level is high, the doctor should consider collecting blood.
So let's get used to the strange role that risk factors for this condition and mad cow disease can fulfill. Genetics clearly demonstrates that Celtic ancestry is the underlying risk factor for hemochromatosis, but its condition is not limited to this group. Of course, if you know that your ancestor is Celtic and has heart, liver, or joint problems, you only need to investigate hemochromatosis tests? However, some risk factors are more logistic than genetic ones, but they are not very important. One of these is related to being a blood donor.
Just for clarity, you can not "catch" hemochromatosis through blood donation. The problem is more stub. Suppose there are people donating blood on a regular basis. This is a wonderful thing. But what if you cause hemochromatosis? Citizens worthy of your praise also prevent iron accumulation that your condition will cause and it raises doubts.
Perhaps you move to a new town and there is no convenient place to donate. If you stop blood and have hemochromatosis, iron begins to accumulate in your system. Even if blood loss due to menstruation every month is interrupted, the same is true for women. This can occur due to hysterectomy, some forms of contraception, and of course menopause.
Certainly, as many women born in the baby boom period from 1943 to 1963 have reached menopause, there is currently a menopausal iron overload syndrome. Women with hemochromatosis have found that due to the lack of consciousness of hemochromatosis in the medical community and the lack of iron overload screening, menopause causes misdiagnosis and causes serious health problems that are not properly assessed . result? The entire raft of iron overload induced diseases that could be fatal or lethal.
Therefore, unless it is known that hereditary hemochromatosis is absent, it is reasonable to monitor blood iron values when facing these risk factors:
1. Long-term interruption of menstrual bleeding 2. Permanent termination of menstrual bleeding 3. Interruption of long-term blood donation 4. Permanent suspension of blood donation
And this is the point where mad cow disease enters the story, especially point 4. As you know, mad cow disease is a colloquial term for BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy). When humans eat beef contaminated with BSE, it can cause CJD and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which is a very troubling way.
Research on the possibilities of CJD transmitted through blood transfusion is still in progress, but US institutions dealing with blood donors have decided to accept blood of people living in the UK for more than 3 months between 1980 and 1996 ,. The same applies to people who live in the rest of Europe for the total of more than five years between 1980 and the present. This prohibition has begun to take effect in 1996 in some parts of the US and has been universally enforced since 2000 (or depending on the sources you consult in 2002).
Consider this scenario: you have a European ancestry, there is no genetic hemochromatosis, and it is hidden by regular blood donation. Because I spent time in Europe and the UK, I have to stop donating blood. You suddenly face a serious risk that iron overload will hurt your internal organs.
Please note that other factors such as Chagas disease, hepatitis, HIV / AIDS, organ transplantation, tissue transplantation, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, etc. can prevent or delay blood donation (Source: America & 39; blood Center). There are good reasons why these factors should be taken into account by the organization supporting blood supply in the country and it is a good idea to give blood in most cases if you are healthy and healthy. But ironically it is necessary to deeply understand the fact that giving blood potentially can hide the lethal state, ironically, this state, Celtic Curse,
For details, please visit www.CelticCurse.org.
