A 54-Year-Old Man Is Evaluated in the Clinic Due to Generalized

A 54-year-old man is evaluated in the clinic due to generalized weakness and lethargy for the past 5 years.  He has no history of hypothyroidism or depression.  The patient uses acetaminophen intermittently for joint pains that he attributes to "old age."  He drinks alcohol occasionally but does not use tobacco or illicit drugs.  His older brother died of liver cirrhosis.  Laboratory tests show a serum ferritin level of 1800 μg/L.  If this patient's disorder is hereditary, the genetic defect responsible for his condition most likely affects which of the following processes?

A) Blood iron transport
B) Hemoglobin synthesis
C) Hepatic iron excretion
D) Intestinal iron absorption
E) Renal iron excretion

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