AGE @ Exeter
Ageing and long-term conditions, Genetics, and Epidemiology group
AGE @ Exeter
Ageing and long-term conditions, Genetics, and Epidemiology group
People with a specific genetic variant (HFE C282Y homozygotes) can absorb too much iron from their diet, which builds up in the body, damaging organs and causing a disease called haemochromatosis, which affects ~1 in 150 people on Northern European ancestry. Our research focussed on understanding why some patients get more severe disease than others, with the aim to improve stratification and diagnosis. We produced a patient-friendly website of our recent findings, so that genotype carriers can understand their risks:
https://sites.exeter.ac.uk/ironoverload
We also study the effects of high and low iron in the general population, especially in the brain. We use the UK Biobank MRI data to estimate iron deposition in different regions, to determine the patterns associated with neurodegenerative disease risk. We are particularly interested in the causes: what results in some people depositing iron in specific regions?