What is thalassemia and is it serious?

Thalassemia, also known as dyscrasia, is anemia caused by genetic factors that lead to abnormalities in the number of peptide chains of pearl proteins. Thalassemia is usually more common along the Mediterranean coast, while in China it is more common in the south. The clinical severity of thalassemia varies, most of them are chronic hemolytic anemia, and the severity of the disease is mainly related to the type of thalassemia, which is divided into α-thalassemia and β-thalassemia. The symptoms of mild thalassemia are relatively mild, while heavy patients are relatively severe: 1. α-thalassemia: 1. Standard α-thalassemia: some children have no clinical manifestations and are usually only measured in anemia screening; 2. Intermediate α-thalassemia: children have moderate to severe anemia, and may have hepatosplenomegaly and anemic appearance; 3. Hb bART’s α-thalassemia: the most Severe, can be manifested as edematous fetus at the time of pregnancy, and the fetus dies before or shortly after birth. β-thalassemia: 1.Light β-thalassemia: no anemia symptoms or only mild anemia, blood routine and hemoglobin electrophoresis may have corresponding changes; 2.Intermediate β-thalassemia: performance varies from person to person, some of them may have mild anemia and no enlargement of liver and spleen, while others may need regular blood transfusion to maintain life, generally can survive to adulthood; 3.Heavy β-thalassemia. The symptoms usually start to appear after three months of life, and the liver and spleen gradually become enlarged. After diagnosis, blood transfusion and iron removal therapy or bone marrow transplantation are required, and most of them die in childhood.