Iron Overload in African Americans
Completed
Conditions studied: Hemochromatosis, Iron Overload
In brief
Iron overload (hemochromatosis) is a condition which causes the intestines to take too much iron into the body from food or pills. The extra iron can build up in the liver, heart, joints, pancreas, sex organs, and other organs. Patients with iron overload can feel well initially, but the iron will eventually damage organs and may lead to an early death. The condition is believed to be passed down from generation to generation. Many studies have been conducted on the condition as it affects Caucasian Americans, few have addressed the condition in African Americans. Researchers believe it is important to find out as much as possible about the iron overload in African Americans. The goal of this study is to determine the pattern of inheritance of primary iron overload in African American families and to identify the genetic defect causing the condition. The study will use various tests from simple blood testing (transferritin saturation and serum ferritin levels) to complex genetic tests (segregation analysis and polymerase chain reaction \[PCR\]). The tests will help researchers deterimine iron levels in the blood, presence of antigens that may help trace inheritance, and detect changes in genes that are known to cause iron overload in Caucasians. The study may not directly benefit the patients participating in it. However, this study may lead to improved methods to diagnose iron overload in the African American population as a whole.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT00001455
- Run by
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
- People needed
- 500
- Starts
- 1995-06-01
- Expected to finish
- 2000-06-01
- Last updated by the study team
- 2008-03-04
Who can join
Age: any. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.
Where it is running
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) — Bethesda, Maryland, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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