Much less widely known than the dangerous consequences of iron deficiencies is the fact that too much iron can also cause problems, the researchers said. The exact origin of the genetic iron overload disorder hereditary hemochromatosis has been elusive. But researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and the University of Heidelberg have discovered the disorder is a liver disease that develops when a crucial gene is missing in liver cells.

The research is detailed in the journal Cell Metabolism.