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Thalassemia Is A Disorder That Affects The Blood Of Those Affected With The Disease Essay

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Thalassemia is a disorder that affects the blood of those affected with the disease. Thalassemia is an inherited disorder. Those affected with thalassemia experience irregular hemoglobin formation. The symptoms of the disorder have varying indications, which depend on the specific type of thalassemia. A common trait of the disease is mild to severe anemia. Thalassemia is an inherited disease. The disease is observed under two main types α- and β- thalassemia. The cause of the hemoglobin disorder is hereditary. Both types of thalassemia are autosomal recessive diseases. Adult hemoglobin is made up of four protein chains. The four chains are made up of two α and two β chains. In patients with thalassemia, one can observe deficiencies in either the alpha or beta chain. These defects cause the body to produce irregular red blood cells. α- thalassemia is most prevalent in people of African descent. This is because the deletion of a α locus that is responsible for α-thalassemia is more commonly observed in people of African descent. Alpha-thalassemia in patients is correlated to deletion of the 16p chromosome, which is the chromosome where you can find genes that α globin chains are encoded on. This deletion produces a drop in the production of alpha globin. This reduction of alpha globin causes irregularities in the hemoglobin of the patient. Beta-thalassemia is related to mutations on chromosome 11. Chromosome 11 is where beta globin chains are encoded. Beta-thalassemia is

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