African iron overload

Infobox_Disease
Name = African iron overload


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OMIM = 601195
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African iron overload, formerly known as "Bantu siderosis", is an iron overload disorder first observed among people of African descent in Southern Africa.

Causes

Originally, this was blamed on ungalvanised barrels used to store home-made beer, which led to increased oxidation and increased iron levels in the beer. Further investigation has shown that only some people drinking this sort of beer get an iron overload syndrome, and that a similar syndrome occurred in people of African descent who have had no contact with this kind of beer (e.g., African Americans). cite journal |author=Gordeuk V, Mukiibi J, Hasstedt SJ, "et al" |title=Iron overload in Africa. Interaction between a gene and dietary iron content |journal=N. Engl. J. Med. |volume=326 |issue=2 |pages=95–100 |year=1992 |month=January |pmid=1727237 |doi= |url=]

This led investigators to the discovery of a gene polymorphism in the gene for ferroportin, which predisposes some people of African descent to iron overload. cite journal |author=Gordeuk VR, Caleffi A, Corradini E, "et al" |title=Iron overload in Africans and African-Americans and a common mutation in the SCL40A1 (ferroportin 1) gene |journal=Blood Cells Mol. Dis. |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=299–304 |year=2003 |pmid=14636642 |doi= |url=http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1079979603001645]

Polymorphisms in SLC40A1 have recently been investigated in Americans of African descent.cite journal |author=Barton JC, Acton RT, Lee PL, West C |title=SLC40A1 Q248H allele frequencies and Q248H-associated risk of non-HFE iron overload in persons of sub-Saharan African descent |journal=Blood Cells Mol. Dis. |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=206–11 |year=2007 |pmid=17490902 |doi=10.1016/j.bcmd.2007.03.008 |url=http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1079-9796(07)00075-7]

References

External links

*RareDiseases|8495|Bantu siderosis