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It turns out that not everyone can eat broad beans, although almost everyone likes its grains. Undiagnosed favism can be very serious. What is this disease and who does it attack?
When it first shows up in vegetable and fruit stalls, we are happy to buy it. Broad beans – tasty and nourishing. In addition, it is available fresh for a short time, so we try to eat it often while we can. And that’s good – as long as we don’t belong to over 200 million people, in whom eating broad beans can cause disease. What is this disease? This is favism (from the Latin name for bean – Vicia faba).
Favism – guilty genes again
Favism is caused by a certain genetic mutation that causes a deficiency of one of the enzymes: glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. The mutation arises exactly in the G6PD gene, located on the X chromosome. The sole purpose of this gene is to code the protein.
Its deficiency causes haemolysis – that is, the penetration of hemoglobin into the blood plasma (normally it should be built into red blood cells). The task of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase is to stimulate the production of a certain factor that ensures longer life for blood cells. Without it, they die much faster – and this can lead to more severe anemia.
However, you can be a carrier of this genetic mutation and be quite good – until you come across the factor that activates the disease. Sometimes it is necessary for us to decrease the number of erythrocytes, our body temperature to increase, we are attacked by jaundice or bacteria (e.g. salmonella or E. Coli bacteria). Sometimes the triggering factor will be taking some medications – such as antimalarials or sulfonamides, and even high doses of vitamin C or vitamin K. Drug-induced hemolysis then occurs one to three days after the administration of the drug.
Dangerous broad beans
Sometimes, however, the disease is activated by such an innocent thing as eating a bowl of broad beans. For some, contact with its pollen is enough! People with the G6PD gene mutation have a different degree of susceptibility to the disease (in medicine, the patient’s sensitivity is classified into one of three classes). Those more sensitive after one meal containing broad beans may experience vomiting, headaches, pain in the lumbar region and abdominal pain, jaundice, anemia, pallor, dark urine, hemoglobinuria (presence of free hemoglobin in the urine).
However, we don’t need to have symptoms of the disease to pass the defective gene to our children. Favism can only wander as a mutation that will not manifest itself until the next generation. Let us add that men suffer from favism more often. In very sensitive people, the symptoms of the disease may appear in infancy.
Favism – How to Detect a Mutation?
The only way is to determine the activity of the G6PD gene and to check whether there are Heinz bodies in the cytoplasm of erythrocytes in the peripheral blood. Such a test should be performed by everyone who suspects or knows that the mentioned genetic mutation is migrating in their family.
However, if we find out about our disease, because after eating broad beans, we will get its symptoms, treatment will mainly consist of blood transfusions. Sometimes patients are offered spleen removal surgery – but only in the case of repeated, frequent, and severe episodes of haemolysis.
Patients – a bit like allergy sufferers – must avoid the factors that trigger their symptoms. Women burdened with the genetic mutation must bear this in mind when pregnant and breastfeeding: they should not consume broad beans and medications that could cause haemolysis in their babies.
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