Definition:
Neonatal Hemochromatosis is a rare and severe liver disease. It is also known as perinatal hemochromatosis or neonatal iron storage disease.
Treatment:
Liver transplant is still the most effective treatment for Neonatal hemochromatosis. There are reports that an antioxidant chelation cocktail is another successful alternative but there is still no valid basis for that at present.
A new treatment is being introduced and has gained a lot of positive results; high dose of immunoglobulin are given to pregnant mothers who has a previous history of giving birth to an infant with Neonatal Hemochromatosis.
Symptoms and Signs:
Neonatal Hemochromatosis manifests characteristics similar to hereditary Hemochromatosis including:
* Malaise, which is a feeling of general and unexplainable discomfort and uneasiness.
* Erectile dysfunction and lack of function of the gonads (ovaries or testes)
* Decreased libido
* Arthritis of the hand, knee and shoulder joints
* Congestive heart failure
* Involuntary movements (dyskinesia)
* Hearing loss (deafness)
* Endocrine organs dysfunctions
* A darkish color to the skin
* Increased susceptibility to some infections caused by siderophilic organisms like Vibrio vulnificus infections from eating sea foods.
Causes:
The causes of Neonatal Hemochromatosis is still not yet known; however there are researches undertaken that led to the assumption that this disease is an alloimmune disease: meaning, it can occur in patients in various conditions namely:
* After blood and plasma transfusion
* After grafts
* In the fetus it can occur after maternal antibodies transfer into the fetus by passing through the placenta.
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