Lesson of the week: Haemochromatosis as an endocrine cause of subfertility
BMJ 1998; 316 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.316.7135.915 (Published 21 March 1998) Cite this as: BMJ 1998;316:915
- Michael J Tweed, medical registrar,
- Jonathan M Roland, consultant physician (jmrphys@aol.com)
- Peterborough District Hospital, Peterborough PE3 6DA
- Correspondence to: Dr Roland
- Accepted 28 October 1997
Haemochromatosis should be considered and iron studies performed when investigating endocrine causes of infertility
Haemochromatosis is well established as a cause of infertility in both men and women, usually because iron deposition in the pituitary or the gonads leads to hypogonadism. As haemochromatosis is a fairly common disorder it should be considered when subfertility from an endocrine disorder is being investigated. We report on two related patients being investigated for subfertility in whom haemochromatosis was diagnosed only when one of them became diabetic.
Case reports
Case 1
A 32 year old man was referred to a tertiary referral centre for subfertility. He complained of failure of ejaculation and limited facial hair growth. Examination revealed female type and scanty axillary and pubic hair, soft testes (volume 8 …
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