Also called: Also called: Cooley's anemia, Mediterranean anemia
If you have thalassemia, your body has problems making hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen through your body. When your blood does not carry enough oxygen to the rest of your body, you have anemia.
Thalassemia, a genetic disease, can be mild or severe. Some carriers of the gene have no symptoms. The most common severe form in the United States is a type called Cooley's anemia. It mainly affects people of Mediterranean or Asian ancestry. It usually appears during the first two years of life. Severe thalassemia is treated with blood transfusions and treatment to remove excess iron in the blood.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
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Learning about Thalassemia
(National Human Genome Research Institute) - http://www.genome.gov/page.cfm?pageID=10001221
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Thalassemias(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Thalassemia/Thalassemia_WhatIs.html
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Thalassemia(March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) - http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1229.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.nacersano.org/centro/9388_9980.asp
- Thalassemia(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/thalassemia/DS00905/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
- Gene Behind Childhood Anemias Found(12/04/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_72426.html
- Thalassemia: Laboratory Tests(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/conditions/thalassemia-3.html
- Living with Thalassemia(Northern California Comprehensive Thalassemia Center) - http://www.thalassemia.com/live_thal.html
- Alpha Thalassemia(Cooley's Anemia Foundation) - Links to PDF - http://www.cooleysanemia.org/updates/pdf/Alpha_Thalassemia.pdf
- Beta Thalassemia(Cooley's Anemia Foundation) - Links to PDF - http://www.cooleysanemia.org/updates/pdf/Beta_Thalassemia.pdf
- What Is Beta-Thalassemia?(Dolan DNA Learning Center) - http://www.yourgenesyourhealth.org/thal/whatisit.htm
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ClinicalTrials.gov: beta-Thalassemia(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22beta-Thalassemia%22
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Thalassemia(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Thalassemia%22
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Genetics Home Reference: Beta thalassemia(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=betathalassemia
- Article: Prevalence of elevated hemoglobin A2 measured by the CAPILLARYS system. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19095564&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Hemoglobin profiles and hematologic features of thalassemic newborns: application to... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18976009&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Severe fetal thrombocytopenia in Rhesus D alloimmunized pregnancies. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18928982&tool=MedlinePlus
- Thalassemia -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=thalassemia[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Thalassemia Care Centers(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/hbd/thal_center_list.htm
- Cooley's Anemia Foundation - http://www.cooleysanemia.org/
- Iron Disorders Institute - http://www.irondisorders.org/
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National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
- Thalassemias(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/heart/thalassemias.html
- Anemia - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/anemia.html
- Blood, Heart and Circulation - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bloodheartandcirculation.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Thalassemia is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/