Health Tips - cooley’s anemia

Thursday, January 14, 2010

If two defective genes for producing beta chains (one from each parent) are inherited, the result is a much more severe condition called beta thalassemia major or cooley’s anemia, which affects those who have the condition within a few months of birth. Symptoms are the same as those of hemophiliac (health red cell destruction) anemia pale skin, fatigue, shortness of breath, and jaundice. The spleen may also be enlarged. If untreated, the bone marrow expands greatly in an attempt to produce more red cells; this causes the bones in the body, including the skull, to grow abnormally. With proper treatment, a child with thalassemia major can live and grow into adulthood despite the severity of the health disease (see chapter Seven).