Patent ID: 9097728
Filing Date: 2015-08-04
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
1. A method for diagnosing and/or staging β-thalassemia in a subject in need thereof, said method comprising: contacting a blood sample obtained from said subject with Alpha-Hemoglobin Stabilizing Protein (AHSP), detecting and/or quantifying the presence of free monomeric α-Hb in said blood sample by using at least one labelled antibody that binds specifically to α-Hb, comparing an amount of free monomeric α-Hb detected and/or quantified in said detecting and/or quantifying step with a reference value, wherein said reference value comprises the amount of free monomeric α-Hb detected and/or quantified in at least one control subject not diagnosed with a hemoglobin disorder; and correlating said amount of free monomeric α-Hb with the diagnosis and/or the staging of a hemoglobin disorder in said subject, wherein significantly higher amounts of said free monomeric α-Hb detected and/or quantified in said subject as compared to said reference value corresponds to the severity of β-thalassemia in said subject.