What is beta thalassemia?

What is beta thalassemia? Thalassemia (thal-uh-SEE-mee-uh) is a blood disorder that is inherited. This means it is passed down from one or both parents through their genes. When you have thalassemia, your body makes less hemoglobin than normal. Hemoglobin is an iron-rich protein in red blood cells.

What is beta thalassemia caused by?

Beta thalassemia is caused by mutations in the hemoglobin beta (HBB) gene. Individuals with beta thalassemia minor have a mutation in one HBB gene, while individuals with the intermediate and major forms have mutations in both HBB genes.

What are the symptoms of beta thalassemia?

Is beta thalassemia trait serious?

People with beta thalassemia trait also can have a child with beta thalassemia disease. Beta thalassemia disease is not a form of sickle cell disease, but it is a serious lifelong illness.

What is the difference between thalassemia and beta thalassemia?

When thalassemia is called “alpha” or “beta,” this refers to the part of hemoglobin that isn't being made. If either the alpha or beta part is not made, there aren't enough building blocks to make normal amounts of hemoglobin. Low alpha is called alpha thalassemia. Low beta is called beta thalassemia.

Beta Thalassemia - causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, pathology

How long do thalassemia patients live?

Survival of thalassemia patients

The cumulative survival rate from birth until 10 years old was 99%. After reaching the age of 20 years, 88% of the patients survived until 30 years, 74% survived until 45, 68% survived until 50, and 51% survived until 55 years old.

What is the life expectancy of someone with thalassemia?

Prognosis. Persons with thalassemia trait have a normal life expectancy. Persons with beta thalassemia major live an average of 17 years and usually die by 30 years of age. Most deaths are caused by the cardiac complications of iron overload.

What is the treatment for beta thalassemia?

Treatment for beta thalassemia may include: Regular blood transfusions. Medications (to decrease amount of iron in the body, called chelation therapy) Surgical removal of the spleen (if necessary)

Can you have a baby if you have thalassemia?

Can You Get Pregnant With Beta Thalassemia? Yes, but you may need help getting pregnant. Often, women with beta thalassemia will need to use medications to help them ovulate in order to become pregnant. Many health problems caused by beta thalassemia have to do with too much iron in your body.

Can thalassemia be cured?

Stem cell or bone marrow transplants are the only cure for thalassaemia, but they're not done very often because of the significant risks involved. Stem cells are produced in bone marrow, the spongy tissue found in the centre of some bones, and have the ability to develop into different types of blood cells.

Who is at risk for beta thalassemia?

Beta thalassemia is most often found in people who are of Greek, Italian, African, or Asian origin. The diagnosis is most often made between ages 6 and 12. These tests may be able to tell if you are a carrier and can pass the disorder on to your children: Complete blood count (CBC).

Is thalassemia a serious disease?

Although the main health problems associated with thalassaemia can often be managed with treatment, it's still a serious health condition that can have a significant impact on a person's life. Even in mild cases, there's still a risk you could pass on a more serious type to your children.

Is beta thalassemia inherited?

People with this form are also at risk for iron overload. Beta-thalassemia is caused by genetic changes in the HBB gene and is typically inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. This means that people with thalassemia major or thalassemia intermedia have a genetic change in both of their copies of the HBB gene.

How do you get thalassemia?

Thalassemia occurs when there's an abnormality or mutation in one of the genes involved in hemoglobin production. You inherit this genetic abnormality from your parents. If only one of your parents is a carrier for thalassemia, you may develop a form of the disease known as thalassemia minor.

How is beta thalassemia diagnosed?

The diagnosis of β-thalassemia relies on measuring red blood cell indices that reveal microcytic hypochromic anemia, nucleated red blood cells on peripheral blood smear, hemoglobin analysis that reveals decreased amounts of HbA and increased amounts of hemoglobin F (HbF) after age 12 months, and the clinical severity ...

Is beta thalassemia the same as sickle cell?

While beta thalassemia is caused by a defect in the beta-globin gene, controlling the production of the beta-globin chains of hemoglobin, sickle cell disease is caused by a defect in hemoglobin itself with the presence of abnormal hemoglobin S.

Can 2 people with thalassemia have kids?

If both parents have the beta thalassaemia trait, there's a: 1 in 4 chance each child they have will not inherit any faulty genes and will not have thalassaemia or be able to pass it on. 1 in 2 chance each child they have will just inherit a copy of the faulty gene from 1 parent and be a carrier.

Can thalassemia become leukemia?

Occurrence of leukemia in thalassemia major is a rare presentation. Here we report two cases of thalassemic patients, developing acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The genetic analysis revealed that, female and male patients were homozygous for IVSI-6 and IVSI-5, respectively.

Is it harder to get pregnant with thalassemia?

Women with thalassemia who require blood transfusions often have a higher rate of infertility. However, some women with the disease are able to become pregnant.

Can thalassemia patients marry?

Abstract. Aim: With good care, patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia major (TDTM) can reach older ages, marry and reproduce.

How do you live with beta thalassemia?

Living with beta thalassemia

Work with your healthcare provider to make a treatment plan that includes blood transfusions. Your plan may also include treatment to remove extra iron from your body (iron chelation therapy). You will also have regular blood tests and physical exams. It is important to avoid infections.

What are the 4 types of thalassemia?

What famous person has thalassemia?

June 29, 2016- Daniella Macolino is a 24 year old actress who pursues her dreams each day while living, and thriving, with thalassemia major. CAF thanks Daniella for allowing us to share her inspiring story.

Do blood transfusions shorten your life?

Results: The median length of survival was 95.0 (+/- 2.5) months. Twenty-four percent of patients died within 1 year after the transfusion, 30 percent within 2 years, 40 percent within 5 years, and 52 percent within 10 years.

Can I get the Covid vaccine if I have thalassemia?

Currently, there are no serious warnings or precautions associated with the mRNA (COMIRNATY [Pfizer-BioNTech] or SPIKEVAX [Moderna]) vaccines in persons with thalassemia beyond those of the general population.