Hemochromatosis
Alternate Names : Hereditary Hemochromatosis, Idiopathic Hemochromatosis, Bronze Diabetes, Iron Overload Disease
How is the disease diagnosed?
Hemochromatosis is diagnosed by measuring the amount of iron in the blood. There are several blood tests that can do this:
serum ferritin, which measures the protein that acts as a carrier for iron in the blood stream
serum iron, which measures iron concentrations in the blood
total iron-binding capacity, or TIBC, which measures the amount of iron that can potentially be stored in the blood
The level of iron compounds in the urine may also be measured. Also, a liver biopsy may be done to obtain tissue for examination in the laboratory. Now that the gene that causes hemochromatosis has been identified, however, DNA testing to examine a person's genes may be done to diagnose the disease.
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