thalassemia

noun

thal·as·se·mia ˌtha-lə-ˈsē-mē-ə

: any of a group of inherited disorders of hemoglobin synthesis (such as Cooley's anemia) that are marked by mild to severe hypochromic and microcytic anemia, result from the partial or complete failure in production of one or more globin chains, and tend to occur especially in individuals of Mediterranean, African, or southeastern Asian ancestry

—sometimes used with a prefix (such as alpha-, beta-, or delta-) to indicate the hemoglobin chain affected see beta-thalassemia

thalassemic

ˌtha-lə-ˈsē-mik

adjective or noun

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Those launches, taking place over the next few years, are slated to include a medicine called Exa-cel to treat sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia as well as another drug for acute pain. —

BostonGlobe.com, 23 Feb. 2023 Some other gene therapy trials – such as those targeting the blood disorders sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia – involve removing stem cells from someone’s blood, using CRISPR in the lab, then putting the altered cells back into the person. —

Laura Ungar, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2022 Some other gene therapy trials – such as those targeting the blood disorders sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia – involve removing stem cells from someone’s blood, using CRISPR in the lab, then putting the altered cells back into the person. —

Laura Ungar, Hartford Courant, 4 Nov. 2022 Some other gene therapy trials – such as those targeting the blood disorders sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia – involve removing stem cells from someone’s blood, using CRISPR in the lab, then putting the altered cells back into the person. —

Laura Ungar, Anchorage Daily News, 4 Nov. 2022 Scientists at Sun Yat-sen University used CRISPR in an attempt to cure a blood disease called beta thalassemia. —

Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 1 Feb. 2016 Particularly, those who suffer from blood diseases like thalassemia or sickle cell disease. —

William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 10 Feb. 2023 Bluebird estimates that there are as many as 1,500 people with transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia in the United States. —

Ryan Cross, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2022 People with sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia carry defects in the gene for hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein in blood. —

Byscience News Staff, science.org, 4 Jan. 2023 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'thalassemia.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek thalassa sea + New Latin -emia

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of thalassemia was in 1932

See more words from the same year

Dictionary Entries Near thalassemia

Thalassarctos

thalassemia

thalassemia major

See More Nearby Entries

Cite this Entry

Style

“Thalassemia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thalassemia. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.

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Medical Definition

thalassemia

noun

thal·as·se·mia

variants or British thalassaemia

ˌthal-ə-ˈsē-mē-ə

: any of a group of inherited hypochromic anemias and especially Cooley's anemia controlled by a series of allelic genes that cause reduction in or failure of synthesis of one of the globin chains making up hemoglobin and that tend to occur especially in individuals of Mediterranean, African, or southeastern Asian ancestry

—sometimes used with a prefix (as alpha-, beta-, or delta-) to indicate the hemoglobin chain affected

called also Mediterranean anemia

see alpha-thalassemia, beta-thalassemia