Health tips - Thalassemia

Friday, January 15, 2010

Thalassemia is the name for a group of inherited disorders that cause faulty production of hemoglobin and health red cells. The severity of the anemia produced by thalassemia depends on the number and type of abnormal genes you inherit. To understand the connection between genes and anemia,it helps to understand a bit more about hemoglobin.

Hemoglobin is a protein (globing) that contains a pigment (home). But the “globing” part actually contains several subunits called “protein chains”. Each protein chain is controlled by a specific gene. In thalassemia, the genes that trolled by a specific gene. In thalassemia, the genes that trolled by a specific gene. In thalassemia, the genes that control the “alpha” or “beta” protein chains are defective.