http://www.medindia.net/healthnews/Thalassemia-news.asp Medindia largest health website in india. en-us Copyright 2012. All Rights Reserved. Fri, 25 May 2012 07:24:12 GMT http://www.medindia.net/news/avert-thalassemia-with-awareness-101062-1.htm Every year over 10,000 thalassemic children are being born in India, experts deem that the by and large incurable blood disorder can be easily prevented through better awareness. May 8 is globally celebrated as 'International Thalassemia Day'. It is an inherited blood disorder in which the red blood cells contain a reduced amount of haemoglobin, or in severe cases, a lack of haemoglobin in the cells. Thalassemia can range from mild to life threatening and therefore should be monitored. "Earlier, ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/avert-thalassemia-with-awareness-101062-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Himachal-Pradesh-Issues-Directives-to-Reserve-Beds-for-Thalassemia-Patients-90326-1.htm Just over a month after it was rapped by the High Court regarding care given to thalassemia patients, the Himachal Pradesh health department directed hospitals in the state to provide beds to the patients. A spokesman for the health department said that directives have been sent to all state and district level hospitals to provide at least two beds for thalassaemia patients along with free medicines and treatment facilities. He went on to add that blood transfusions will also be provided to the patients by the hospital authorities....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Himachal-Pradesh-Issues-Directives-to-Reserve-Beds-for-Thalassemia-Patients-90326-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Children-With-Thalassemia-at-Risk-for-HIV-79142-1.htm Nearly 3,000 thalassemic children in India get infected with HIV virus annually due to inefficient testing during a crucial blood transfusion process. According to latest figures, more than 12,000 thalassemic children are born in India every year and require blood transfusion as part of their treatment. However outdated blood tests mean that many blood banks, including the Indian Red Cross, fail to identify whether the blood is tainted with HIV virus. A large majority of the blood banks make use ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Children-With-Thalassemia-at-Risk-for-HIV-79142-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Thalassemia-may-Protect-Kids-from-Malaria-34315-1.htm In a new study, researchers have found that the blood disease alpha thalassemia may protect kids from malaria. Alpha thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder in which children suffering from it unusually make small red blood cells that mostly cause a mild form of anaemia. Now, researchers at the University of Oxford led by Karen Day, Ph.D., Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medical Parasitology at NYU School of Medicine, have found that having small red blood cells is an advantage against malaria....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Thalassemia-may-Protect-Kids-from-Malaria-34315-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Iron-Overload-In-Thalassemia-New-Cause-Discovered-25748-1.htm According to researchers at the NIH, iron overload in patients with thalassemia can be caused due to an overproduction of a protein called GDF15. This suppresses the production of a liver protein, hepcidin, which in turn leads to an increase in the uptake of dietary iron in the gut. This finding has implications for iron metabolism in other diseases and may contribute to the future development of therapies for thalassemia. The study, led by researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Iron-Overload-In-Thalassemia-New-Cause-Discovered-25748-1.htm