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Calcium and Thalassemia  Calcium
is an essential mineral for building and maintaining strong bones and teeth.
Calcium is found in some vegetables such as broccoli and kale, but dairy
products such as milk, yogurt, and cheese are much better dietary sources
of calcium. Some people either do not like dairy or cannot tolerate a dairy
product in their digestive system. For these individuals a good source of
calcium can be either calcium fortified orange juice or Tums, an antacid
made solely of calcium carbonate.A diet with inadequate calcium will decrease the storage of calcium in bones, which can become weak and will fracture easily. Weakness of bones is called osteoporosis. The calcium stored in your bones must last you your whole life, so if you have weak bones when you are a young adult it will be difficult to increase their strength as you get older. The peak time for storage is during the teenage years. It is during this time that the bones reach their adult length and strength. It is also during this time that estrogen in young women and testosterone in young men help them develop their bones and make them strong. If there is not enough calcium in their diets, or if there is not enough hormone production, the amount of calcium that is made into bone will be reduced. Since this is the major period of bone development, the bones will be weaker for the rest of a person's life. Having strong bones is important for all of us, but it is especially important for people with thalassemia. Some of the secondary health problems that occur in children and adolescents with thalassemia affect bone formation. If thalassemia major is not treated with proper blood transfusions, there is so much activity in the bone marrow that bones will become thin and will fracture spontaneously. With adequate transfusion this is not a problem, but with transfusions come other problems; namely, iron overload. If an inadequate amount of Desferal is used and iron builds up in the body, the iron deposition can affect some of the organs that help the body build up strong bones. The major problem that interferes with strong bones is hypogonadism. Iron deposits in the testis in young men and in the ovaries in young women. This iron deposition can cause early menopause in young women in their twenties and can require hormone replacement therapy in both men and women. Without estrogen and testosterone, bones will not form normally and later in life the bones will be susceptible to disease. With replacement of estrogen or testosterone and adequate amounts of calcium, this problem can be prevented. Other problems of calcium metabolism can occur when the thyroid gland is affected by iron overload, and particularly when the parathyroid is damaged by iron. <next> <page 1> <page 2> |
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©2003 Children's Hospital
and Research Center at Oakland
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