Thalassemia is a hereditary disease caused by faulty hemoglobin.
Hemoglobin is the protein red blood molecule that carries oxygen and carbon dioxide
A disorder leads in excessive destruction of red blood cells which result in anemia
There are many kinds of this condition namely:
- Alpha Thalassemia
- Thalassemia Intermedia
- Cooley Anemia
The symptoms and signs will depend on the type and severity of the condition
Alpha Thalassemia is to make alpha hemoglobin chain. It consists two genes from your mother and two genes from your father all in all four genes.
Thalassemia intermedia are a group of thalassemia patients.
Cooley anemia it’s a beta thalassemia. It completes lack of bet protein and it’s a life-threatening anemia that needs a regular transfusion
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF THALASSEMIA
- Uneasy/Irritable
- Skin yellowish
- Expanded abdomen
- Dislocate of the facial bones
- Legs cramps
- Dizziness
- Faintness
- Shortness of breath
- Hearth problem
- Tumor masses of extramedullary erythropoietin tissue
- Weakness
- Greater susceptibility to infections
RISK FACTORS
The listed below are factors that have a high risk of developing the disease:
- Anemia
- Paleness
- A person who has infections
- A person with a Poor appetite
- Failure to thrive
- Malnourishment
- Mutations in the DNA of cells that make hemoglobin
DIAGNOSIS
The following are techniques on how to diagnose a person it includes:
- Prenatal testing
- Chorionic villus sampling
- Amniocentesis
- Hemoglobin electrophoreses test
- Blood test
- Physical exam
PREVENTIVE MEASURES
There are a few things you need to be cautious such as the following:
- A simple health checkup for thalassemia carrier before having a family can save your children.
- Creating awareness about thalassemia to the people. Its by giving seminars, workshops, and writing articles in the daily newspapers.
- Population free screening in such people who live in rural areas can accumulate
- Counseling to a person who already has thalassemia
- Prenatal diagnosis when you are on the family. It’s a way see to it that you take a prenatal diagnosis. Especially if you have symptoms of thalassemia, in doing so you and your baby be safe and healthy.
TREATMENT
- Blood transfusions – the process of transferring the blood. This can replenish hemoglobin and red blood cell levels. Thalassemia Patients needs 8 to 12 transfusion each year
- Iron chelation – the removal of accession from the body with special drugs. But it can also cause iron overload witch to lead to hearth and other organs damage
- Folic acid supplement – vitamin B that normally found in food. It can develop the red blood cells.
- Surgery – necessary to correct problems/issues of the bones
- Gene Therapy – normal genes into cells in place of missing or defective to correct genetic disorders
- Bone marrow or Stem cell-transplant a treatment for some kind of cancer
The bone marrow produces blood cells.
A stem cell is a cell with unique capable and specialized cells types in our body.
