Lesson of the week: Haemochromatosis as an endocrine cause of subfertility

Abstract

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 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 …