Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2006

Abstract

Thalassaemia is an inherited blood disorder and is a significant public health problem in Malaysia, with many not knowing they carry gene for thalassaemia. The two major forms are alpha and beta thalassaemia. An individual can co-inherit both the alpha and beta thalassaemia genes. This study determined the frequency of cincurrent carriers of alpha thalassaemia in 231 beta thalassaemia carriers. Gap-PCR was done on extracted DNA of the beta thalassaemia samples to check for alpha thalassaemia 1 molecular defect. Eight (3.5) samples were found to have concurrently inherited the alpha thalassaemia 1 deletion. The significant carrier rare for alpha thalassaemia 1 indicates the need for the implementation of DNA analysis to complement thalassaemia screening in high risk populations.

Keywords

Thalassaemia, Concurrent carries, screening, gene interaction

Publication Title

Medical Journal of Malaysia

ISSN

0300-5283

Divisions

fac_med

Volume

61

Issue

2

Publisher

Malaysian Medical Association

Additional Information

Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Building, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA

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