Alpha-beta thalassaemia

Abstract

In a Greek Cypriot family in which genes for both alpha and beta thalassaemias were expressed, haematological and biosynthetic investigations indicated that one family member was homozygous for beta thalassaemia and had alpha-thalassaemia1 trait. The concurrent inheritance of an alpha-thalassaemia gene in the beta-thalassaemia homozygote seemed to have modified his degree of chain imbalance and to have reduced the clinical severity of the disease.