Iron overload

Iron overload disorders represent a heterogenous group of conditions resulting from inherited and acquired causes. With the discovery of new proteins and genetic defeats we have gained greater insight into their causation at the molecular level and the complex mechanisms of normal and disordered iron homeostasis. Here we review the normal mechanisms and regulation of gastrointestinal iron absorption and liver iron transport and their dysregulation in iron overload states. Advances in the understanding of the natural history of iron overload disorders and new methods for clinical detection and management or hereditary hemochromatosis are also reviewed. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.