Thalass. Rep., Volume 6, Issue 1 (April 2016) – 3 articles

Only four cases of Hb I-Toulouse have been reported to date. Current literature associates Hb I-Toulouse in the heterozygote with a mild chronic hemolytic anemia. The variant is mildly unstable with a tendency to form metHb. The quantity of the variant in heterozygotes has been reported as varying between 33 to 40%. This report confirms the finding from a single case, that a reduced percentage of Hb IToulouse along with microcytosis can be attributed to the co-inheritance of an abnormal α globin genotype. This current case was found in a woman of Pacific People ethnicity residing in New Zealand. There is a high prevalence of α thalassemia in this ethnic group and New Zealand has the highest Pacific population in the world. Therefore, if a reduced percentage of Hb I-Toulouse is found with microcytosis and normal iron studies, co-inheritance with α thalassemia should be considered.
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The present study evaluates carotid intimamedia thickness (CIMT) in children with β thalassemia major to assess atherosclerosis and its relation to the underlying proposed causative mechanisms via lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde (MDA), oxidized lowdensity lipoproteins (LDL), total antioxidant level, and lipid profile. A cross sectional study was conducted on 62 children (31 cases and 31 controls). CIMT by high resolution ultrasound and biochemical parameters i.e., total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoproteins, LDL, Oxidized LDL, lipoprotein (a), lipid peroxidation product MDA and total antioxidant were measured in enrolled subjects and compared. In our study, CIMT was significantly increased in β thalassemia major patients’ as compared to healthy controls. Mean CIMT in cases was 0.69 ± 0.11 mm and in controls 0.51 ± 0.07 mm. Mean oxidized LDL (EU/mL) in cases 39.3 ± 34.4 (range 14.4 to 160) was significantly raised (p = 0.02, t test) as compared to controls 23.9 ± 13.4 (range 12 to 70). In our study we found MDA levels (nmol/mL) to be increased in β thalassemia patients as compared to controls. Mean MDA was 10.0 ± 3.27 (4.41 to 17.48) in cases while in controls was 6.87 ± 4.55 (1.5 to 17.9). Our study results show CIMT as an early marker of atherogenesis in β thalassemia major. Oxidative stress markers are also increased in β thalassemia major patients and lipoprotein (a) shows a positive correlation with CIMT. The present study points towards various atherogenetic mechanisms in β thalassemia major.
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Single-cell optical analysis of red blood cells provides information on the cellular hemoglobin concentration and volume of red cells. We evaluated the reliability of the typical profiles of the cytogram hemoglobin concentration/ volume (Mie Map), produced by the CELL-DYN^® Sapphire analyzer (Abbott Diagnostics, Santa Clara, CA, USA) in the discrimination of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and thalassemia trait. A total of 380 patients with microcytic anemia were studied: 220 with IDA, 101 β-thalassemia trait, 30 β-thalassemia trait with concomitant iron deficiency, 29 α-thalassemia trait. Three professionals reviewed the Mie maps, with no information regarding the disease of the patient. The observers made a presumptive diagnosis (genetic or acquired anemia) and the percentages of correct classifications were recorded. IDA showed broad shaped shift of the cytogram while carriers presented narrow clustering in the lower microcytic area: 100 % IDA were correctly classified and 96–82% of carriers were recognized. Visual inspection of the Mie map reveals different profiles in IDA and thalassemia trait; those patterns are in concordance with the numerical data Mie map helps in the evaluation of large amounts of data. Full article