Alpha-thalassemia in a selected population of Mexico

Objective. To identify by molecular biology the alleles of alpha-Thal in se lected hospital populations. Methods. Eighteen propositi with hematological and biochemical data suggestive of alpha-thalassemia, selected from 356 pa tients of four hospitals in two cities with probable hemoglobinopathy were investigated for six common alpha-Thal alleles. Molecular studies were done by PCR and digestion with specific restriction enzymes. Results. The alpha (3.7) allele was identified in two cases and the family study revealed the same allele in the mother; HbS heterozigocity was also detected in one of t hem. An analysis with Apa I demonstrated a class I deletion in both patient s. The present study showed 2/356 (0.6%) of alpha(3.71) carriers which is a low frequency as compared with other countries. As no other common alpha-t halassemia alleles were found, we suspect that alpha-Thal in Mexico is as h eterogeneous at a molecular level as beta-Thal.