What impact does thalassemia have on the fetus?

Written by Zhang Yin Xing
Obstetrics
Updated on November 09, 2024
00:00
00:00

Thalassemia is a common autosomal genetic disease with a high incidence in the southern regions of our country, divided into alpha type and beta type, and based on severity, it is further classified into silent, mild, moderate, and severe types. For fetuses with silent and mild thalassemia, there are usually no obvious symptoms, and no treatment is required; for moderate and severe thalassemia fetuses, we aim to prevent their birth, so it is necessary to conduct relevant tests on both spouses before and during early pregnancy to determine whether they carry the pathogenic genes for thalassemia. For fetuses with moderate or severe thalassemia, intrauterine growth retardation, abnormal skeletal development, and enlargement of the liver and spleen can occur; fetuses with severe thalassemia mostly die in utero or after birth. Fetuses with moderate thalassemia require long-term treatments after birth, such as blood transfusions, iron removal, and splenectomy, and even with such treatments, it is difficult for them to develop into adulthood.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Xiao Le
Hematology
1min 4sec home-news-image

What to do and what to eat for dizziness caused by thalassemia?

Patients with thalassemia who experience dizziness first need to analyze the cause of the dizziness. The vast majority of causes of dizziness are not related to diet, nor can they be corrected by eating certain foods. For patients with thalassemia experiencing dizziness, it is first necessary to consider whether the cause is worsening anemia. A drop in hemoglobin can lead to ischemia and hypoxia in the body, which can manifest as symptoms of dizziness in the nervous system. If it is confirmed that the dizziness is caused by worsening anemia, then blood transfusion treatment is needed, usually requiring the transfusion of washed red cells. Once the anemia is corrected, the symptoms of dizziness can disappear. At the same time, folic acid supplements can be added to provide raw materials for hematopoiesis. Other possible causes of dizziness include diseases such as cranial, cervical spine, and otolithiasis, all of which require further differential diagnosis. (The use of drugs should be carried out under the guidance of a physician)

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Li Fang Fang
Hematology
36sec home-news-image

Can carriers of thalassemia have babies?

Thalassemia carriers refer to individuals where one of the four genes is a pathogenic gene. Such patients can have children. However, it is advised that the other parent of the child be completely normal. Even if the other parent is completely normal, the child has a fifty percent chance of being completely normal and a fifty percent chance of also being a carrier of thalassemia. However, although they are carriers of thalassemia, they usually do not exhibit obvious symptoms of anemia, generally having no anemia or only very mild anemia.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Xiao Le
Hematology
1min 5sec home-news-image

What should I do about thalassemia?

Thalassemia is a hereditary hemolytic anemia. Currently, there is no specific cure for thalassemia, and treatment mainly involves symptomatic management based on the type and severity of the disease. This includes red blood cell transfusions, prevention of secondary hemosiderosis, and splenectomy, along with targeted prevention and treatment of factors that induce hemolysis, such as infections. Splenectomy is appropriate for patients whose transfusion needs are increasing, accompanied by splenic hyperfunction and significant compression symptoms. For patients with a suitable HLA-matched donor, allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation can be performed, which is currently the only effective treatment capable of curing thalassemia. Although mild thalassemia cannot be cured, prenatal genetic diagnosis is crucial for eugenics, effectively preventing the birth of fetuses with thalassemia and playing an important role in genetic health care.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Li Fang Fang
Hematology
34sec home-news-image

Dietary Considerations for Thalassemia

Thalassemia, also known as hemoglobin synthesis disorder anemia, is a genetic disease that falls under the category of genetic disorders. It is caused by abnormalities in the genes related to globin, leading to a deficiency in globin quantity, which in turn causes thalassemia. Since thalassemia is a genetic disorder, there are no specific dietary considerations. The severity of thalassemia is also defined by the number of affected genes; the fewer the affected genes, the milder the condition.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by He Li Fang
Hematology
1min 25sec home-news-image

Can a fetus with thalassemia be kept?

Thalassemia, commonly referred to as "Mediterranean anemia," is a hereditary hemolytic anemia caused by mutations or deletions in globin genes, leading to insufficient synthesis of globin peptide chains. Cases with a deficiency in the globin chain are called thalassemia. Regarding whether a thalassemia fetus should be carried to term, one must first consider the maternal family history, including any history of stillbirths, occurrences of hydrops fetalis (swelling in infants), or cases of severe thalassemia in children, as well as instances where both parents are carriers, marking a high-risk pregnancy. In such cases, strict prenatal diagnosis is required. Prenatal diagnosis includes taking samples of fetal chorion, amniotic fluid, and umbilical cord blood for genetic analysis. If severe thalassemia or Hemoglobin Barts Hydrops Fetalis Syndrome is detected in the fetus, the pregnancy should be terminated immediately. Therefore, it is recommended to terminate pregnancies where the fetus is found to have severe thalassemia or Hemoglobin Barts Hydrops Fetalis Syndrome.