I think we will all grant you that inappropriate storage of iron in tissues can be a big problem
with diabetes. Probably everyone with diabetes should be checked for hemochromatosis, I will grant
you that. They should also be checked for celiac disease, which can cause iron deficiency anemia.
Also thyroid disease, and the list goes on..........
Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2003 Feb;25(2):169-72.
Refractory iron deficiency anemia as the primary clinical manifestation of celiac disease.
Mody RJ, Brown PI, Wechsler DS.
Section of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Department of Pediatrics & Communicable Diseases, The
University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, USA. [email hidden]
In the absence of dietary insufficiency, iron deficiency is usually caused by chronic blood loss or
intestinal malabsorption. Celiac disease is one of the most common causes of intestinal
malabsorption during childhood, and its association with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus has
been previously reported. Here the authors describe an otherwise asymptomatic diabetic adolescent
boy with iron deficiency anemia that was not responsive to oral iron therapy. A diagnosis of celiac
disease was made based on both anti-endomysial antibody titers and small intestinal biopsy.
Institution of a gluten-free diet resulted in correction of the anemia. These observations emphasize
the importance of considering a diagnosis of celiac disease in patients with nonresponsive iron
deficiency anemia, particularly in the setting of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
PMID: 12571473
BL
"As the waves pass the rock, their shape is changed. There is a hologram of the rock within the wave
that comes forward and crashes on the beach, then there's a reflected wave back." Ralph Abraham
"I'd like to learn to windsurf." BL