This is from someone (me,) who knows no medicine at all! So don't fall over laughing, but could Zip's hepatic problems have their origin in Zip:s brain? Do brain and liver communicate? Could something have gone awry "upstairs"? Previous viral infection there?
That is not a bad thought! Many hormonal control systems DO have some interaction with the brain. For example, the thyroid, adrenal glands, and kidneys are directly or indirectly regulated by hormones originating in the hypothalamus and/or pituitary gland (which are both in the brain). There may be some brain-liver interplay, but to my knowledge, the iron regulation axis does not involve the central nervous system (CNS).
That's great to see an MLS reader! Excellent question. At the time, guidelines in human medicine were to discard the blood due to concerns about toxicity from the iron. I recently found out Red Cross and the other blood banks changed their guidance in 2022, but Zip died in 2017. It is a shame so much blood was historically wasted! I understand the concern about transfusing the iron, but it seems like it would be (a) easy to check those levels, and (b) simply make it a requirement that only well-controlled HH patients without overload are able to donate.
This is from someone (me,) who knows no medicine at all! So don't fall over laughing, but could Zip's hepatic problems have their origin in Zip:s brain? Do brain and liver communicate? Could something have gone awry "upstairs"? Previous viral infection there?
That is not a bad thought! Many hormonal control systems DO have some interaction with the brain. For example, the thyroid, adrenal glands, and kidneys are directly or indirectly regulated by hormones originating in the hypothalamus and/or pituitary gland (which are both in the brain). There may be some brain-liver interplay, but to my knowledge, the iron regulation axis does not involve the central nervous system (CNS).
My day job is a Medical Laboratory Scientist at a major hospital! This story was an amazing read!
With humans, patients with HH are able to donate blood, would you be able to use the blood collected from the Aussie in other patients?
That's great to see an MLS reader! Excellent question. At the time, guidelines in human medicine were to discard the blood due to concerns about toxicity from the iron. I recently found out Red Cross and the other blood banks changed their guidance in 2022, but Zip died in 2017. It is a shame so much blood was historically wasted! I understand the concern about transfusing the iron, but it seems like it would be (a) easy to check those levels, and (b) simply make it a requirement that only well-controlled HH patients without overload are able to donate.