Human hemoglobin genes are located in α and β globin gene clusters in chromosomes 16 and 11, respectively. Different types of hemoglobin are synthesized according to the stage of development with fetal hemoglobin (α(2)γ(2)) (Hb F) being the main hemoglobin in the fetal period. After birth, there is a reduction (to about 1%) in Hb F levels and adult hemoglobin, Hb A (2α(2)β(2)), increases to mor...

OBJECTIVE The use of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) inducer drugs is considered as a novel approach in treatment of β-hemoglobinopathies, especially β- thalassemia and sickle cell disease. HbF inducers including hydroxyurea, histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor agents such as sodium butyrate, azacitidine, decitabine and new immunomodulator drugs like pomalidomide, lenalidomide and thalidomide can reduc...

Hydroxyurea is a newly approved therapeutic agent for the treatment of sickle-cell disease. Hydroxyurea reduces the number of painful crises in sicklecell patients presumably by increasing the levels of fetal hemoglobin, which has a large solubilizing effect on sickle-cell hemoglobin and reduces polymerization (1). Despite being used to treat a number of cancers for nearly 30 years, the mechani...

Growing evidence indicates that nitrite, NO2-, serves as a circulating reservoir of nitric oxide (NO) bioactivity that is activated during physiological and pathological hypoxia. One of the intravascular mechanisms for nitrite conversion to NO is a chemical nitrite reductase activity of deoxyhemoglobin. The rate of NO production from this reaction is increased when hemoglobin is in the R confor...

To establish relation between fetal MCA’s PSV in 3rd trimester and anemia as non-invasive method. The study was done retrospectively, including 40 pregnant women who had raised of MCA (Multiple Median(MoM) >1.5) blood flow third correlated with the new born’s Hemoglobin Blood indices (MCV MCH). Forty fetuses more than 1.5 MoM(coming out to be around 66.50 ± 12.35 cm/seconds), after delivery,...

"Fetal" erythrocytes are present in older children and certain adults with hematologic disorders. To determine if regenerating bone marrow produces such cells, we examined the blood of seven allogeneic bone marrow transplant recipients. Six patients were engrafted with donor cells, while on e patients recovered autologous bone marrow after rejection of a marrow transplant. All seven patients ha...

BACKGROUND Delta beta (δβ) thalassemia is an unusual variant of thalassemia with elevated level of fetal hemoglobin (HbF). Homozygous patients of this disorder, unlike β-thalassemia, show mild anemia. Only few cases of δβ-thalassemia have been reported from India in the available indexed English literature. CASE PRESENTATION A four-year old male child was evaluated for recent-onset jaundice. ...