Are the eyes & ears affected by excess iron??

EYES

• Coinheritance of alleles associated with hemochromatosis and hereditary hyperferritinemia-cataract syndrome. Blood. 1998 Dec 1 Barton JC, Beutler E, Gelbart T  Taken together, these observations suggest that there was no interaction between these two iron-associated mutations or their gene products in our patient that significantly affected routine clinical parameters of iron metabolism. [This patient was a HIS het. with high ferritin, but normal TS .  The ferritin was not decreased with phlebs.]

• Corneal findings in hemochromatosis. Arch Ophthalmol. 1998 Nov [unable to locate article or abstract.]

• Corneal hemochromatosis. A unique type of corneal dystrophy involving the anterior stroma and both limiting membranes. Am J Ophthalmol. 1971 Jul 30;72(1):88-96. [unable to locate article or abstract.]

• Lens changes in hereditary hyperferritinemia-cataract syndrome.
  Am J Ophthalmol. 2001 Nov; Hereditary hyperferritinemia-cataract syndrome can be associated with distinct breadcrumb-like lens opacities. **Note:  Although they don't associate this hyperferritinemia with hemochromatosis, one has to wonder about a connection???

• Metabolic disorders and corneal changes  [Article in German] Includes hemochromatosis.

• Molecular analysis of hereditary hyperferritinemia-cataract syndrome in a large Basque family.
  J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2001 Mar  Hereditary hyperferritinemia-cataract syndrome is a genetic condition characterized by constitutively increased serum ferritin values in the absence of iron overload and by bilateral cataract.  This could demonstrate that cataract formation is a consequence of ferritin accumulation in the lens. 

• Supplemental iron exacerbates aminoglycoside ototoxicity in vivo. Conlon BJ, Smith DW. Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC These results provide further evidence of the recently reported intrinsic role of iron in aminoglycoside ototoxicity, and highlight a potential risk of aminoglycoside administration in patients with elevated serum iron.
   

EARS

• Otosclerosis and Vestibular Generation  Simon, A.M., and Bourel, M. Letter to the Editor.  Archives of Otolaryngology, October 1974, Vol 100. page 238. "This was shared by an audiologist on a HH list a few years ago where he gave his thoughts on hearing loss & HH.

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