Published in:
01-07-2011 | Original Article
Quantitative analysis of Hb Bart’s in cord blood by capillary electrophoresis system
Authors:
Thongperm Munkongdee, Dalad Pichanun, Punnee Butthep, Sumonmaln Klamchuen, Veeradet Chalermpolprapa, Pranee Winichagoon, Saovaros Svasti, Suthat Fucharoen
Published in:
Annals of Hematology
|
Issue 7/2011
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Abstract
It has long been recognized that the presence of hemoglobin (Hb) Bart’s in newborn’s blood is associated with α-thalassemia. However, the automated high-performance liquid chromatography or low-performance liquid chromatography system is unable to quantify the amount of Hbs Bart’s and H, which are eluted at the retention time close to 0 min. This study used automatic capillary electrophoresis (CE) system to diagnose various types of α-thalassemia in 587 cord blood samples, including 429 normal α-globin genotype, 120 cases of thalassemia with one α-globin gene defect, 34 cases with two α-globin genes defect, and four cases with three α-globin genes defect. The result showed that the level of Hb Bart’s in cord blood was increased accordingly with the increasing numbers of the defective α-globin genes. In addition, Hb Bart’s level at 0.2%, as measured by CE, can be used as a cut-off point for α-thalassemia diagnosis in newborns.