Alpha thalassemia is caused by two abnormal genes on chromosome 16. Children who inherit such genes from just one parent may have a mild, often unnoticeable, form of disease. But they may also have something valuable, a natural resistance to malaria . The two thalassemias also share some of the characteristics of sickle cell anemia . Each is concentrated in parts of the world where malaria is common.
Alpha thalassemia is concentrated among the peoples of Southeast Asia.
At birth babies may have no symptoms, but as their bodies produce more and more defective hemoglobin, the characteristic signs of anemia paleness, weakness, and breathlessness start to appear. Those with mild forms of either disease may have no evident symptoms at all. Symptoms your physician may observe Most cases of the two diseases can be identified by blood tests. The gene defects can be identified, with some difficulty, by DNA analysis. Some of the plasma is removed so that the blood is especially rich in red cells containing normal hemoglobin.