Hemochromatosis

Oliver Jurgensen =//__Hemochromatosis__//= Hemochromatosis is a genetic disease which is the most common one having to do with iron overload, and it basically storages iron that is taken by the food we eat and then that builds on the vital organs such as the heart, liver and pancreas. There are 2 types of Hemochromatosis which are type 1 and type 2//.//Type 1 is hereditary which means that is passed from the parents and it suffers a genetic mutation while Type 2 is produced by the person itself and its mainly caused by anemia, alcoholism and other disorders. There are other two little branches, which are juvenile affecting the kids between 15-30 and the neonatal, which causes babies to rapidly absorb and contain iron inside their liver causing death. Iron is a must nutrient in humanities dietary plan because it transforms into hemoglobin and that helps to transport oxygen from the lungs to the tissues. The proper and healthy absorbed iron for a regular human being is 10 percent but people with Hemochromatosis absorb up to 30 percent and they can even absorb 5 to 20 times iron than the body needs. There’s no way iron can be destroyed or the body can’t get rid of it so it goes to the liver, pancreas and heart.
 * __ What is Hemochromatosis? __**

Hemochromatosis is mainly caused by a gene defect called HFE, which its main purpose is to regulate the level of iron inside our body. There are two types of mutations that occur from this gene and those are, C282Y and H63D. C282Y is much more important because it’s the one inherited from both of the parents and then you have Hemochromatosis. If its only passed from one parent, then the offspring is a carrier and the disease never develops. Juvenile and neonatal Hemochromatosis don’t happen because of this gene, they are caused by the mutation of a gene called Hemojuvelin. Recent surveys by the people of Northern Europe realized that 1 out of 200 are risky in inheriting this disease. Hemochromatosis can even cause cancer, and diabetes. The main symptoms that come with Hemochromatosis are:
 * __ How is Hemochromatosis occurred? __**
 * Fatigue
 * Weaknesses
 * Abdonimal Pain (could be on the stomach)
 * Arthritis commonly on the knuckles
 * Diabetes (late onset type)
 * Liver disorders
 * Sexual disorders
 * Cardiomyopathy, disease in the heart muscles
 * Bronzing of the skin, permanent tan
 * Don’t have to develop all of the symptoms, it will be mainly 2

Hemochromatosis is genetic disease that affects various cultures worldwide. For example, more than 85% of Northern European Descendents have the probability of containing this disease and also recent studies suggest that 10% of the people on the northern part of Europe ancestry are heterozygous for HH. The definition for Heterozygous is “having dissimilar pairs of genes for any hereditary characteristic. “ That’s why; there are serious health problems in the northern part of Europe. Some numbers that associations have come up with that have to do with this disease are, that every 1 of 300 people expresses the disease. The C282Y, which is the mutation that occurs for having this disease, is set to be originally from the Celtic or Viking era, 60 generations ago and that’s why the northern part is affected and Irish have the highest frequency for this mutation. It’s believed that the Irish descendants were part of the creation of this mutation and in the US, 1 out of 200 people may have this disease.
 * __ Cultural: __**

In order for this disease to be treated, there are some pills involved and one of those pills would be Desferrioxamine. It comes in different packs but the main one is 8 vials and that costs around 160 US $, which is a very high price for the ones that are affected by this disease because you will need at least 100 vials. There is another treatment which involves some pill called Ferritin and cost 60 US $ for 60 tablets. There is also for the diagnosing, genetic screening which has a cost from 500- 2000 US$ in the USA areas but in Australia the whole process will be between 5220-11631 USD. This disease is a very expensive one because a lot of money has to be wasted for the treatment of the patient from this disease that his containing.
 * __ Economic: __**

Hemochromatosis is also a disease that affects the social lives of many people. For example, the Irish are the ones that are most affected so they have created an association so that they can be helped. The name of this association is Irish Hemochromatosis Association, which is located on Ireland, and they give out information on the disease and so that the people containing the disease can be aware of what is happening and how this is affecting them. They are trying to save lives and to also aware the medical and general population around the world so that an action can be taken. They have a contact number for any extra questions and the campaign seems to be very strong in Irish lands. There are also many societies like from UK, USA, Canada and Australia because this are one of the most affected countries and all of them have websites which, include information and have the same goal to advise the world of medicine about this horrible disease.
 * __ Social: __**

There are no actual benefits that come with the disease of Hemochromatosis because the disease is only bringing pain and making the person suffer. Nevertheless, there are some treatments and the good part would be that this disease could be preventable. I say treatment because there is no actual cure for this genetic mutation but the pain and suffering can disappear or lose their intensification by taking some medicine. For example, the treatment is known as, Phlebotomy and it’s the removal of blood. They do this so that the blood levels with iron return to their normal range. This can take up to 18 months with doing this removal once a week but it can also be done twice, depending on the iron levels inside the blood. The limitations that would come would be all the rest and mainly on the symptoms part because that’s the place where the person suffers the most. He/she also suffers from pain that the ironsticks to some organs and then creates tissues that eventually bring some pain to the person. Some of the organs die and then that could lead to the death of the person. Works Cited "Haemochromatosis." //BBC News//. BBC. Web. 11 Mar. 2012. . "Haemochromatosis." //Netdoctor//. Web. 11 Mar. 2012. . "Hemochromatosis (Haemochromatosis)." //Shrewdly Informed, IT Savvy, Financial Savvy Africans!// Web. 11 Mar. 2012. . "How Haemochromatosis Is Inherited." //The Haemochromatosis Society UK//. Web. 11 Mar. 2012. .
 * __ Benefits and Limitations: __**