Clinical modalities based on inhibition of gelation of HbS are hindered by the lack of quantitative information on the extent of participation of different amino acid residues in the aggregation process. One such site is Asp-85(alpha), which is involved in a parallel interdouble strand ionic interaction with Lys-144(beta) according to the crystal structure of HbS, but electron microscopy does n...

BACKGROUND It is important to differentiate whether isolated anti-HBc is due to false positive results or the prior exposure to hepatitis B virus, because individuals with false-positive anti-HBc can benefit from vaccination and their blood can be safely transfused. To distinguish between these two conditions, we evaluated the serologic response to hepatitis B vaccine. METHODS Ninety subjects w...

The aim of the current study was to evaluate viral suppression following combined treatment with an S/pre-S1/pre-S2 vaccine and lamivudine in patients with chronic hepatitis B. We established a randomized, controlled clinical trial to compare the responses of three different treatment groups: those receiving vaccine monotherapy, lamivudine monotherapy, or combination treatment. Viral response w...

In sickle cell disease (SCD), hydroxyurea (HU) treatment decreases the number of vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) and acute chest syndrome (ACS) by increasing fetal hemoglobin (HbF). Data are lacking regarding the frequency of HU dose modification or whether sub-therapeutic doses (<15 mg/kg/day) are beneficial. We reviewed the medical records of 140 patients from 2010 to 2014. The laboratory paramet...

Abnormal hemoglobins (Hbs) are the most commonly inherited disorders in humans. Their frequency and types change considerably with geographic location and ethnic group. To investigate the molecular epidemiological characterization of abnormal Hbs in eastern Guangdong of southern China, a total of 11,450 'healthy' subjects were subjected to hemoglobin electrophoresis screening. Samples of EDTA-K...

During 1978-81 there were about 43,500 births in Birmingham, of which 10.3% were to Negroes and 22.6% to Asians. Cellulose acetate electrophoresis of red cell haemolysates from capillary specimens collected for phenylketonuria screening was performed for these babies to assess the feasibility, cost, and benefits of detecting sickle haemoglobinopathies early. Eight babies had important haemoglob...

Glycated hemoglobin is widely used in the management of diabetes mellitus. At least 300,000 Americans with diabetes mellitus have the hemoglobin (Hb) C or S trait. The accuracy of HbA1c methods can be adversely affected by the presence of these traits. We evaluated the effects of HbC and HbS traits on the results of 14 commercial HbA1c methods that use boronate affinity, enzymatic, immunoassay,...

Hemoglobins are a group of respiratory proteins principally functioning in transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide in red blood cells of all vertebrates and some invertebrates. The blood clam T. granosa is one of the few invertebrates that have hemoglobin-containing red hemocytes. In the present research, the peroxidase activity of T. granosa hemoglobins (Tg-Hbs) was characterized and the associ...

Hepatitis B antibody persistence was assessed in individuals who had previously received a vaccine booster. We measured hepatitis B surface antigen antibody (anti-HBs) levels 7 to 9 years post-hepatitis B booster in individuals with primary vaccination at birth. While 95 (91.3%) of 104 participants had detectable anti-HBs (minimum, 0.1 mIU/ml; maximum, 1,029 mIU/ml), only 43 (41%) had protectiv...