Familial iron overload with possible autosomal dominant inheritance.

A 96 member Melanesian kindred with 31 cases of iron overload is reported. Liver biopsies from 19 of these patients showed features similar to those of genetic haemochromatosis in Caucasians, but in contrast to the previous reported HLA-linked autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance for haemochromatosis, this family shows a pattern that is most consistent with autosomal dominant inheritance. This is suggested by involvement of three and possibly four consecutive generations, with a high frequency of transmission from parents to children and equal gender distribution. Linkage and segregation analysis supported dominant inheritance, with no demonstrable HLA linkage.