What is Thalasemia ?

Thalasemia is the name of a group of genetic blood disorders. how it affects the human body ? Here is some explain to understand it : our hemoglobin is the oxygen-carrying component of the red blood cells. It consists of two different proteins, an alpha and a beta. If our body doesn't produce enough of either of these two proteins, the red blood cells do not form properly and cannot carry sufficient oxygen. The result is anemia that begins in early childhood and lasts throughout life.

Type of thalasemia :
Alpha thalasemia
It is the people whose hemoglobin does not produce enough alpha protein.It is commonly found in Africa, the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, southern China, and occasionally the Mediterranean region.

Beta Thalasemia
It is the people whose hemoglobin does not produce enough beta protein. It is found in people of Mediterranean descent, such as Italians and
Greeks, and is also found in the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Africa, Southeast Asia and southern China.

Other Thalasemia
There are other related disorders that occur when the gene for alpha or beta thalassemia combines with an abnormal or mutant gene.

E Beta Thalasemia. Hemoglobin E is one of the most common abnormal hemoglobins. It is usually found in people of Southeast Asian ancestry, such as Cambodians, Vietnamese and Thai. When combined with beta thalassemia, hemoglobin E produces E beta thalasemia, a moderately severe anemia which is similar in symptoms to beta thalasemia intermedia.

Sickle Beta Thalasemia. This condition is caused by a combination of beta thalasemia and hemoglobin S, the abnormal hemoglobin found in people with sickle cell disease. It is commonly found in people of Mediterranean ancestry, such as Italians, Greeks and Turks. The condition varies according to the amount of normal beta globin produced by the beta gene. When no beta globin is produced by the beta gene, the condition is almost identical with sickle cell disease. The more beta globin produced by the beta gene, the less severe the condition.