Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Part I Introduction to hemochromatosis
- Part II Genetics of hemochromatosis
- Part III Metal absorption and metabolism in hemochromatosis
- Part IV Diagnostic techniques for iron overload
- Part V Complications of iron overload
- Part VI Therapy of hemochromatosis and iron overload
- Part VII Infections and immunity in hemochromatosis
- Part VIII Hemochromatosis heterozygotes
- Part IX Relationship of hemochromatosis to other disorders
- 42 Thalassemias and their interactions with hemochromatosis
- 43 Iron overload in sideroblastic and other nonthalassemic anemias
- 44 Hemochromatosis, iron overload, and porphyria cutanea tarda
- 45 Interactions of alcohol, iron and hemochromatosis
- 46 Iron overload in African Americans
- Part X Animal models of hemochromatosis and iron overload
- Part XI Screening for hemochromatosis
- Part XII Hemochromatosis: societal and ethical issues
- Part XIII Final issues
- Index
45 - Interactions of alcohol, iron and hemochromatosis
from Part IX - Relationship of hemochromatosis to other disorders
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Part I Introduction to hemochromatosis
- Part II Genetics of hemochromatosis
- Part III Metal absorption and metabolism in hemochromatosis
- Part IV Diagnostic techniques for iron overload
- Part V Complications of iron overload
- Part VI Therapy of hemochromatosis and iron overload
- Part VII Infections and immunity in hemochromatosis
- Part VIII Hemochromatosis heterozygotes
- Part IX Relationship of hemochromatosis to other disorders
- 42 Thalassemias and their interactions with hemochromatosis
- 43 Iron overload in sideroblastic and other nonthalassemic anemias
- 44 Hemochromatosis, iron overload, and porphyria cutanea tarda
- 45 Interactions of alcohol, iron and hemochromatosis
- 46 Iron overload in African Americans
- Part X Animal models of hemochromatosis and iron overload
- Part XI Screening for hemochromatosis
- Part XII Hemochromatosis: societal and ethical issues
- Part XIII Final issues
- Index
Summary
Introduction
There has been much debate about the role of excessive alcohol ingestion in the development of iron overload and hemochromatosis. Some have suggested that hemochromatosis is the end-point of alcoholism; others suggest that excessive alcohol ingestion and hemochromatosis are unrelated. Recent observations helped resolve these controversies. First, the hepatic iron index is a reliable diagnostic tool for differentiating hemochromatosis from alcoholic liver disease. Second, alcohol ingestion can cause perturbations of several non-invasive iron status measurements used to screen for hemochromatosis. Third, and most importantly, the genetic basis of many cases of hemochromatosis has been established. This was initially accomplished by means of elegant and pioneering linkage studies that revealed that the hemochromatosis allele resides on chromosome 6 in proximity to the HLA-A locus. The recent description of the putative hemochromatosis gene and the production of animal gene knockout models should lend greater specificity to the molecular and biochemical characterization of the disorder. Further, African iron overload is a condition in which alcohol excess has been incriminated as an etiologic agent in the development of iron overload although there is a possible genetic component of this disorder also. This chapter delineates the effects of alcohol on iron measurements performed as screening tests for hemochromatosis, reviews the interactions between the use of excess alcohol and the pathogenesis of hemochromatosis, and explores the possible role of alcohol in the development of African iron overload.
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- HemochromatosisGenetics, Pathophysiology, Diagnosis and Treatment, pp. 468 - 474Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2000
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