Save Lives! Defeat Hereditary Hemochromatosis

by Stephen Cobb on July 5, 2010

Fight Celtic CurseThe mission of this website is to save lives. Thousands of people suffer and die every year due to hereditary hemochromatosis, an iron-related metabolic disorder also referred to as genetic haemochromatosis, iron overload, bronze diabetes, and Celtic Curse. Despite the fact that it is the most common fatal genetic defect in the Western world, relatively few people have heard of hereditary hemochromatosis. It is widely under-diagnosed and while it is not always fatal, it can cause or exacerbate crippling disabilities and diseases such as: …continued…

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Celtic or Viking, a Curse is a Curse: Hereditary hemochromatosis, firewalls, and genetic killers

by Stephen Cobb on August 15, 2010

Norse-Celtic-Viking

I just found an interesting academic paper from 2006 that discusses the genetic origins and spread of hereditary hemochromatosis (HHC). Was it the Celts or the Vikings, or the Irish Gaels?

Of course, depending on your view of life this question might be exciting or boring; and I would be the first to understand if people suffering from “Celtic Curse” found a discussion of the exact origin of this potentially deadly genetic defect to be, how shall I put this? Academic. However, there are some implications in this article for the mission of CelticCurse.org: Saving lives by raising awareness of this condition.

In my opinion, one of the main reasons that treatment and diagnosis of hereditary hemochromatosis is inadequate in some countries is  [click to continue…]

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Hemochromatosis Symptoms: What NOT to expect

July 25, 2010

Describing the symptoms of hemochromatosis can be tricky. As we have noted elsewhere:  “Early signs and symptoms of hereditary hemochromatosis mimic those of many other common conditions, making it difficult to diagnose.” (Mayo Clinic) Adding to the challenge is the fact that not everyone who has HHC exhibits every symptom of HHC. For example, the bronze [...]

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Difficulty Getting a Diagnosis of Hemochromatosis (and other damage done)

July 25, 2010

Back when I was writing about hemochromatosis on my personal blog I got a lot of questions about diagnosis. I thought I would share how I tried to answer them. For example, Stacey asked “How was your wife diagnosed?” Here is how I responded: var addthis_pub = ‘scobb’; var addthis_language = ‘en’;var addthis_options = ‘email, [...]

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Excellent Video Introduction to Hemochromatosis: From one of the world’s leading experts

July 18, 2010

Here’s some good news for anyone trying to understand hemochromatosis, the most widespread hereditary disease in the Western world: a one hour video-taped lecture from one of the world’s leading experts on the subject, Professor Martina Muckenthaler, PhD., Head of Molecular Medicine at the University of Heidelberg. What is particularly awesome about this video is [...]

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July is Hemochromatosis Awareness Month

July 11, 2010

“Did you know that July is National Hemochromatosis Awareness Month?” That simple sentence is all you need to start a conversation about the Celtic Curse. Some people may respond with “Hemo-what-osis?” and that’s when you hook them with “You know, Celtic Curse?” We’ve struck up conversations like that with lots of different people and so [...]

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A Pioneer Passes: Mr. Iron pioneered phlebotomy treatment for iron overload

July 6, 2010

The New York Times is reporting that Dr. Clement A. Finch, a pioneering hematologist whose research on iron helped improve nutrition and led to advances in diagnosing and treating anemia, died June 28 at the age of 94. He was dubbed “Mr. Iron” by his colleagues. As some readers may know, Dr. Finch played a [...]

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Damage to the Eyes: One more way the Celtic Curse may harm its victims

July 5, 2010
Thumbnail image for Damage to the Eyes: One more way the Celtic Curse may harm its victims

Here’s some news you may not want to hear about Celtic Curse, already known for its negative impact on the heart, liver, and other organs: “The most common–and under-diagnosed–genetic disease in humans just may be a cause of the worst form of macular degeneration.” That’s according to Medical College of Georgia researchers. You can read [...]

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A Call for Widespread Hemochromatosis Screening in Scotland: Study could prove value of screening

July 4, 2010
Thumbnail image for A Call for Widespread Hemochromatosis Screening in Scotland: Study could prove value of screening

As you may have figured by now, here at CelticCurse.org we are big believers in more widespread hemochromatosis screening. The cost of catching hemochromatosis early is way less than caring for someone suffering the effects of untreated hemochromatosis. So we were interested to read this article in The Scotsman, an excellent Scottish newspaper (note the [...]

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One Celtic Curse Story, Part 1: The Thanksgiving Diagnosis

July 4, 2010
Thumbnail image for One Celtic Curse Story, Part 1: The Thanksgiving Diagnosis

Finding out that you have a potentially fatal genetic condition might not seem like good news, but when that condition makes sense of a lot of previously bewildering health problems, you might just be thankful for that news. [The following was first published on my personal blog, in November of 2008. I plan to post [...]

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An Irish View of the Celtic Curse: Hereditary Hemochromatosis

July 3, 2010

Over at the very informative website of the Iron Disorders Institute there was a link to a story about hemochromatosis in an Irish newspaper. Since hemochromatosis is known as the Celtic Curse–on account of its relatively high rate of occurrence in persons of Celtic ancestry–I thought this article would be an interesting perspective on my [...]

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The Work Begins Here: Teaching the world about the Celtic Curse

July 1, 2010

The more people know, the fewer will suffer needlessly and die tragically. The only real obstacle to universal detection, treatment, and elimination of this deadly condition is a lack of information among doctors and among the general population. So here’s what you can do to save lives right now: Tell people about hemochromatosis. Ask your [...]

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