BACKGROUND Iron has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various disorders. Mutations in the HFE gene are associated with an increase in serum iron parameters. The aim of this study was to estimate the heritability in serum iron parameters explained by HFE. METHODS Ninety families (980 subjects) were included in the present analysis. Heritability estimation was conducted using the variance ...

Hemochromatosis comprises a group of inherited disorders resulting from mutations of genes involved in regulating iron metabolism. The multicenter, multi-ethnic Hemochromatosis and Iron Overload Screening (HEIRS) Study screened approximately 100,000 participants in the US and Canada, testing for HFE mutations, serum ferritin and transferrin saturation. As in other studies, HFE C282Y homozygosit...

Background: As it is difficult to know the content of iron added in the Brazilian iron fortification of wheat and corn flour, and if the compound has good or poor bioavailability, the objective was to assess the effect of the Brazilian iron fortification program, as it was carried out, on iron nutritional status of adolescents, 6 years after its implementation. Methods: A cross-sectional retros...

The progression rate of iron overload in hereditary hemochromatosis in individuals in the general population is unknown. We therefore examined in the general population iron overload progression rate in C282Y homozygotes. Using a cohort study of the Danish general population, The Copenhagen City Heart Study, we genotyped 9174 individuals. The 23 C282Y homozygotes identified were matched to 2 su...

BACKGROUND The literature contends that oral iron supplementation is relatively ineffective in patients who are on long-term hemodialysis (HD), and intravenous iron is the superior form of supplementation. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, AND MEASUREMENTS Data were prospectively abstracted from a cross-sectional cohort of all patients in the long-term in-center HD program at St. Michael's Hospi...

The peptide hormone hepcidin is the principal regulator of systemic iron homeostasis. We examined the pathway by which iron stimulates the production of hepcidin. In humans who ingested 65 mg of iron, the increase in transferrin saturation preceded by hours the increase in urinary hepcidin excretion. Increases in urinary hepcidin concentrations were proportional to the increment in transferrin ...

Ferritin values for 250 selected sera were compared with values for iron, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), and transferrin saturation, to assess the potential of the ferritin assay for the detection of latent iron deficiency. The specimens were grouped (50 in each group) according to their values for iron and TIBC. In Group 1 (low iron, high TIBC) the saturation and ferritin values both indi...