Thalassemia; A disease
Health is wealth is a common sentence which we have heard thousand times from our elders. And it is true also. This age is the age of science. With the advancement of scientific technology, diseases are becoming more common these days. Among which thalassemia is the most usual one? Thalassemia is spreading over the globe now days. It started dispersing from European countries.
It is a genetic disorder. It is one of the most crucial diseases, come from ancestors. we can define thalassemia as the genetic impairment of the hemoglobin chains. It is Greek word which means the sea of blood. It is actually a disease which is related to our blood production. If we go down in the chemistry of thalassemia then we will see that hemoglobin is consisting of two alpha and two beta chains. If there is any disturbance in these chain like deletion of any gene or replacement of any gene can directly cause thalassemia.
The symptoms of this disease are slow growth, pale color of skin and anemia or shortening of blood. The formation of blood becomes very low due to the unbinding of oxygen. Iron is already present in hemoglobin molecules, so there is no need of iron therapy but folic acid is must for the binding of oxygen. Due to alpha thalassemia hydrop may be caused which is the accumulation of water in different parts of the body. The enlargement of spleen is also major symptom of thalassemia. There is no specific treatment for this disease as it is a genetic disorder. It is irreversible and appears at any stage of life. It is also caused due to the mutation in genes. There are so many thalassemic centers in our country which are helping these affected people to survive at certain extents.
