Alpha thalassemia: Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder characterized by abnormal synthesis of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin consists of two main protein chains called ? and ?. Alpha thalassemia involves defects in one or more of the four genes required to make each ? protein chain. The main symptom is anemia, the severity of which can vary amongst patients depending on how many defective genes are involved. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Alpha thalassemia is available below.
See full list of 24 symptoms of Alpha thalassemia
Read more about treatments for Alpha thalassemia
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More information about causes of Alpha thalassemia:
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Prognosis for Alpha thalassemia: The prognosis varies depending on how severe the condition is but even the most severe form can result in a reasonable prognosis if treatment is delivered and complications are managed appropriately.
More about prognosis of Alpha thalassemia
Visit our research pages for current research about Alpha thalassemia treatments.
The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.
Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Alpha thalassemia include:
Read more about Clinical Trials for Alpha thalassemia
Types of Alpha thalassemia
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Alpha thalassemia is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of
Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health
(NIH). This means that Alpha thalassemia, or a subtype of Alpha thalassemia,
affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Ophanet, a consortium of European partners,
currently defines a condition rare when it affects 1 person per 2,000.
They list Alpha thalassemia as a "rare disease".
Source - Orphanet
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