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Effect of venesection on bone mineral density in an eugonadal woman with haemochromatosis
E J Hibbert1, G R Fulcher, L Coyle
1Department of Endocrinology, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, NSW, Australia.
Background:
A 41-year-old premenopausal woman with newly diagnosed haemochromatosis was found to have osteopenia on screening bone mineral densitometry.
Methods And Results:
Liver biopsy showed grade 3 haemochromatosis with an hepatic iron index of 4. Investigation for secondary factors for osteopenia revealed no cause. The patient was clinically and biochemically eugonadal. Following venesection of 8 L blood (4 g iron) over 17 months and calcium supplementation, her bone density rose significantly. Neck of femur bone density increased by 6.0% over 13 months and lumbar vertebral bone density increased by 7.2%. There are no previous reports of response of bone density to venesection in eugonadal patients or in women with haemochromatosis.
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