What is sickle beta 0 thalassemia?

Also known as:  sickle beta thalassemia, sickle cell beta thalassemia.

Sickle beta 0 thalassemia is an inherited disease. It causes the red blood cells to have abnormal hemoglobin. This is called hemoglobin S (sickle hemoglobin) with another problem called thalassemia. It causes the body’s hemoglobin, or red blood cells, to take on a sickle shape and not flow through the blood vessels as smoothly. This can cause a number of complications. The “zero” indicates that the blood has no normal hemoglobin. This differs from sickle beta + thalassemia, in which a person has a lower than normal amount of normal hemoglobin.


Reviewed by: Athena Pefkarou, MD

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM

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