Absence of the  -thalassaemia syndromes in Egyptian Arabs

Abstract

Summary. An investigation was undertaken to find the incidence of a-thalassaemia in Egypt. Blood was collected from the umbilical cords of 550 newborns and from 630 adults from central hospitals in Cairo that drain patients from all over Egypt.Starch gel electrophoreses at both pH 8-6 and 7.0, and brilliant cresyl blue incubation revealed the absence of haemoglobins Barts and H in the blood specimens examined.While much is known on the genetic, clinical, and chemical variations of the 3-thalassaemias and their combinations with other haemoglobinopathies, corresponding information on the a-thalassaemias is at best fragmentary and unclear.It is now an accepted fact that haemoglobins Barts and H result from a reduction of a-chain syn-