thalassemia

noun thal·as·se·mia \ ˌtha-lə-ˈsē-mē-ə \

Updated on: 22 Apr 2018

Definition of thalassemia

: 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

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thalassemic

play \ˌtha-lə-ˈsē-mik\ adjective or noun

Recent Examples of thalassemia from the Web

Most people with severe anemia from thalassemia require red blood cell transfusions every two to three weeks.

— jacqueline howard, CNN, "Gene therapy helps patients avoid blood transfusion," 18 Apr. 2018
Cesar was diagnosed at birth with thalassemia, a blood disease.

— rachelle krygier, Washington Post, "Venezuela faces a terrible new crisis: A critical shortage of blood," 8 Mar. 2018
The new study involved base editing experiments in cells from beta-thalassemia patients and human embryos. Cloned human embryos were generated in a lab using a technique called nuclear transfer.

— jacqueline howard, CNN, "Scientists edit gene for blood disease in human embryos," 29 Sep. 2017
Beta thalassemia is a fairly common blood disorder worldwide, occurring most frequently in people from Mediterranean countries, North Africa, the Middle East, India, Central Asia and Southeast Asia.

— jacqueline howard, CNN, "Scientists edit gene for blood disease in human embryos," 29 Sep. 2017
The first published work involving human embryos, reported in 2015, was done in China and targeted a gene that leads to the blood disorder beta thalassemia.

— ariana eunjung cha, chicagotribune.com, "First human embryo editing experiment in U.S. 'corrects' gene for heart condition," 2 Aug. 2017
Alpha thalassemia occurs most often in people from Southeast Asia, China, the Middle East and Africa, according to the NLM.

— sara g. miller staff writer, Fox News, "Mom with rare blood disorder adopts 3 kids with same condition," 19 June 2017
Without access to blood, thalassemia patients can experience critical anemia or even death.

— rose minutaglio, PEOPLE.com, "Boston Woman Adopts 3 Girls That Have Same Incurable Blood Disease She Has: ‘It’s a Miracle We Found Each Other’," 12 June 2017
The strongest risk factors are liver disease, cancer, diabetes, HIV and thalassemia, a rare blood disorder.

— ben tinker, CNN, "Man dies after swimming with new tattoo," 2 June 2017

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.

Origin and Etymology of thalassemia

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1932

See Words from the same year

Medical Dictionary

thalassemia

noun thal·as·se·mia

variants: or British thalassaemia play \ˌthal-ə-ˈsē-mē-ə\

medical Definition of thalassemia

: 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