Hereditary hemochromatosis is an iron overload disorder that can lead to the impairment of multiple organs and is caused by mutations in one or more different genes.

Patients with chronic pancreatitis had evidence of multiple antioxidant deficiencies. The antioxidant profiles of patients with recurrent acute pancreatitis did not differ from those of control subjects, discounting the hypothesis that recurrent acute pancreatitis represents an intermediate state between normality and chronic pancreatitis.

This article was commissioned by the Clinical Laboratory Investigations Standing Committee of the Scientific Committee of the Association of Clinical Biochemists.

We measured CSF and plasma concentrations of C9, IgG, and albumin in 91 patients with demyelination and 73 controls with other neurologic diseases. The C9 index was reduced and IgG index increased in patients with multiple sclerosis and those with isolated demyelinating lesions, irrespective of disease activity; abnormalities were less marked in patients with isolated lesions than in those with MS. Humoral mechanisms may not be responsible for initiating demyelination, but activation of the complement system could amplify tissue damage and account for some symptomatic recovery.

Patients with chronic pancreatitis had evidence of multiple antioxidant deficiencies. The antioxidant profiles of patients with recurrent acute pancreatitis did not differ from those of control subjects, discounting the hypothesis that recurrent acute pancreatitis represents an intermediate state between normality and chronic pancreatitis.