Alpha Thalassemia Center - West Babylon, NYWest Babylon Hematologist Doctors for Alpha ThalassemiaType of Physician: Hematologist What is a Hematologist? A subspecialty certification by the Board of Internal Medicine or Pathology; Hematologists treat diseases of the blood, spleen, and lymph glands such as anemia, clotting disorders, sickle cell disease, hemophilia, leukemia, and lymphoma. They perform special types of transfusions and biopsy the bone marrow for analysis. Specialty: Hematology Common Name: Blood Doctor Hematologist Doctors in West Babylon * MSKCC at Suffolk Outpatient Center  MSKCC at Suffolk Outpatient Center  Lab Corps  Stony Brook University Cancer Center Oncology  Arena Oncology Associates PC  Drs Patel Rai Russo & Mehrotra  Queens Medical Associates  Queens Medical Associates  Fazlul Yusuf MD  Bronx Psychiatric Center  Jacobi Medical Center Hematology  Robert M Bookchin MD  Eli J Kleinman MD  Montefiore Medical Center  Options for Wellness  Montefiore Medical Center Department of Medicine  Montefiore Medical Center  A G Khakee MD  JJ Peters Bronx VA Medical Center  Mary Reed MD & Zwi Schreiber MD  Drs Vogel & Greenberg  Stemline Therapeutics Inc  Ellen Ritchie MD  Roger S Keresztes MD  MSKCC Leukemia Service  MSKCC Bone Marrow Transplant Service  MSKCC Lymphoma Service  MSKCC Hematology  MSKCC Leukemia Service  MSKCC Bone Marrow Transplant Service  MSKCC Leukemia Service  MSKCC Leukemia Service  MSKCC Breast Cancer Medicine  New York Presbyterian Center for Lymphoma & Myeloma  MSKCC Hematology  MSKCC Lymphoma Service  MSKCC Lymphoma Service  MSKCC Bone Marrow Transplant Service  MSKCC Lymphoma Service  MSKCC Leukemia Service  Arthur L Ossias MD  Weill Cornell Breast Center  Drs Gruenstein Wisch & Klafter  Hematology Associates  Hematology Associates  Hematology Associates  Barry S Coller MD  Randy L Levine MD  Weill Cornell Medical College Dept of Pathology  NYU Medicial Center Division of Hematology  NYU Medicial Center Division of Hematology  Ariel Distenfeld MD  Phyllis S Hyde MD  Barry Wenz MD West Babylon, New YorkUpcoming Local Events2012-06-03
2012-06-10
2012-06-10
2012-06-24
2012-09-09
2012-09-23
2012-09-23
2012-11-04
2012-11-11
2012-11-11
Alpha and Beta ThalassemiaRead the Alpha and Beta Thalassemia article » What are thalassemias?Thalassemias (thal-a-SE-me-ahs) are inherited blood disorders. "Inherited" means they're passed on from parents to children through genes. Thalassemias cause the body to make fewer healthy red blood cells and less hemoglobin (HEE-muh-glow-bin) than normal. Hemoglobin is an iron-rich protein in red blood cells. It carries oxygen to all parts of the body. It also carries carbon dioxide (a waste gas) from the body to the lungs, where it's exhaled. People who have thalassemias can have mild or severe anemia (uh-NEE-me-uh). This condition is caused by a lower than normal number of red blood cells or not enough hemoglobin in the red blood cells.
What Causes Thalassemias?Your body makes three types of blood cells: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets (PLATE-lets). Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, an iron-rich protein that carries oxygen from your lungs to all parts of your body. Hemoglobin also carries carbon dioxide (a waste gas) from your body to your lungs to be exhaled. Hemoglobin has two kinds of protein chains: alpha globin and beta globin. If your body doesn't make enough of these protein chains, red blood cells don't form properly and can't carry enough oxygen. Your body won't work well if your red blood cells don't make enough healthy hemoglobin. Genes control how the body makes hemoglobin protein chains. When these genes are missing or altered, thalassemias occur. Thalassemias are inherited disorders. That is, they're passed on from parents to their children through genes. People who get abnormal hemoglobin genes from one parent but normal genes from the other are called carriers. Carriers often have no signs of illness other than mild anemia. However, they can pass the abnormal genes on to their children. People with moderate to severe forms of thalassemia have inherited abnormal genes from... Recommended Reading Related to Alpha ThalassemiaHeart attack facts
Other Related Alpha Thalassemia ArticlesEmergency Contact for West Babylon
Nearby West Babylon Hospitals *Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center BonSecours Health & Wellness Center Brunswick Hall Center South Oaks Hospital Sagamore Children's Psychiatric Center Southside Hospital New Island Hospital Pilgrim Psychiatric Center Plainview Hospital Nassau University Medical Center Syosset Hospital Huntington Hospital St Catherine of Siena Medical Center Northport VA Medical Center Mercy Medical Center Winthrop University Hospital South Nassau Communities Hospital Long Beach Medical Center Franklin Hospital St Francis Hospital The Heart Center Glen Cove Hospital Stony Brook University Medical Center Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center Long Island Jewish Medical Center Schneider Children's Hospital North Shore University Hospital at Manhasset The Zucker Hillside Hospital Queens Children's Psychiatric Center Creedmoor Psychiatric Center The Holliswood Hospital St John's Episcopal Hospital South Shore John T Mather Memorial Hospital St Charles Hospital Cornerstone of Medical Arts Center Hospital Peninsula Hospital Center Queens Hospital Center Jamaica Hospital Medical Center Flushing Hospital Medical Center New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens New Parkway Hospital Rye Hospital Center Forest Hills Hospital Stamford Hospital Sound Shore Medical Center of Westchester Greenwich Hospital Bronx Children's Psychiatric Center St Vincent's Hospital Westchester Bronx Psychiatric Center Calvary Hospital Jack D Weiler Hospital New York Westchester Square Medical Center Jacobi Medical Center Elmhurst Hospital Center Norwalk Hospital  Beth Israel Medical Center  Mount Vernon Hospital  The Brookdale University Hospital & Medical Center  Wyckoff Heights Medical Center  North Division of Montefiore Medical Center  MMC South Bronx Health Center  The Burke Rehabilitation Hospital  St Barnabas Hospital  Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center Fulton Division  Lawrence Hospital Center  Montefiore Medical Center  Hall-Brooke Behavioral Health Services  The Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens  North Central Bronx Hospital  Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center  Interfaith Medical Center  Kingsboro Psychiatric Center  Woodhull Medical & Mental Health Center  Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center Concourse Division  James J Peters VA Medical Center  New York Presbyterian Westchester Featured Articles*Provider Directory Terms of Use: The WebMD 'Provider Directory' is provided by WebMD for use by the general public as a quick reference of information about Providers. The Provider Directory is not intended as a tool for verifying the credentials, qualifications, or abilities of any Provider contained therein. Inclusion in the Provider Directory does not imply recommendation or endorsement nor does omission in the Provider Directory imply WebMD disapproval. |
Suggested Reading on Alpha Thalassemia by Our Doctors
-
Related Diseases & Conditions
16 articles-
Anemia
- Anemia is the condition of having less than the normal number of red blood cells or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. The oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood is, therefore, decreased. Symptoms of anemia may include fatigue, malaise, hair loss, palpitations, and more. Treatment for anemia includes treating the underlying cause for the condition. Iron supplements, vitamin B12 injections, and certain medications may also be necessary.
-
Gallstones
- Gallstones are stones that form when substances in the bile harden. Gallstones (formed in the gallbladder) can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball. There can be just one large stone, hundreds of tiny stones, or any combination. The majority of gallstones do not cause symptoms.
-
Arrhythmia
- An arrhythmia is an abnormal heart rhythm. With an arrhythmia, the heartbeats may be irregular or too slow (bradycardia), to rapid (tachycardia), or too early. When a single heartbeat occurs earlier than normal, it is called a prmature contraction.
-
Heart Attack
- Heart attack happens when a blood clot completely obstructs a coronary artery supplying blood to the heart muscle. A heart attack can cause chest pain, heart failure, and electrical instability of the heart.
-
Enlarged Spleen (Splenomegaly)
- The spleen enlarges if it is asked to do excessive work in filtering or manufacturing blood cells, if there is abnormal blood flow to it, or if it is invaded with abnormal cells or deposits. Symptoms of an enlarged spleen may include weakness and fatigue, easy bleeding, and poor white blood cell function. Treatment of an enlarged spleen is focused toward the cause of the splenomegaly. Surgery may be required to remove the spleen.
-
Jaundice
- Jaundice is a yellowish staining of the skin and whites of the eyes (sclerae) with bilirubin, the pigment found in bile. Jaundice can be an indicator of liver or gallbladder disease, or it may result from the rupture of red blood cells (hemolysis).
-
Malaria
- Malaria is an infectious disease transmitted by the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito. Symptoms of malaria include chills, pain, fever, and sweating. Though mild cases of malaria can be treated with oral medication, severe cases require intravenous drug treatment and fluids.
-
Abnormal Heart Rhythms (Heart Rhythm Disorders)
- Heart rhythm disorders vary from minor palpitations, premature atrial contractions (PACs), premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), sinus tachycardia, and sinus brachycardia, to abnormal heart rhythms such as tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, ventricular flutter, atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT), Wolf-White-Parkinson syndrome, brachycardia, or heart blocks. Treatment is dependant upon the type of heart rhythm disorder.
-
Heart Disease
- Heart disease (coronary artery disease) is caused by a buildup of cholesterol deposits in the coronary arteries. Risk factors for heart disease include smoking, high blood pressure, heredity, diabetes, peripheral artery disease, and obesity. Symptoms include chest pain and shortness of breath. There are a variety of tests used to diagnose coronary artery disease. Treatment includes life-style changes, medications, procedures, or surgery.
-
Sickle Cell Disease (Sickle Cell Anemia)
- Sickle cell anemia (sickle cell disease), a blood disease which shortens life expectancy, is cause by an inherited abnormal hemoglobin. Symptoms may include bacterial infections, painful swelling of the hands and feet, fever, leg ulcers, fatigue, anemia, eye damage, and lung and heart injury. Treatment for sickle cell anemia aims to manage and prevent the worst manifestations of the disease and focuses on therapies that block red blood cells from stacking together, which can lead to tissue and organ damage and pain.
-
Puberty
- The time when boys and girls begin the process of sexual maturation is called puberty. During this time, both sexes undergo a series of biological changes that include a rapid increase in height, bone growth, weight increase, the growth of pubic hair, breast development and the onset of menstruation in girls, and testicle, penis, and muscle enlargement in boys.
-
Beta Thalassemia
- Beta Thalassemia is the most familiar type of thalassemia. Thalassemia is not just one disease but rather a complex series of genetic (inherited) disorders all of which involve underproduction of hemoglobin.
-
G6PD Deficiency
- G6PD deficiency (Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase) leads to a condition called hemolytic anemia. Causes of G6PD deficiency is an abnormal gene located in the X-chromosome, therefore, it is more common in males. Hemolytic anemia caused by G6PD deficiency generally occurs after exposure to malaria medications, antiitching drugs, and fava beans. Pneumonia and other infections can also precipitate hemolytic anemia in individuals with G6PD deficiency. Treatment is generally discontinuing the drug or compound treating infection. Blood transfusions are necessary in some individuals.
-
Heart Failure
- Heart failure is caused by many conditions including coronary artery disease, heart attack, cardiomyopathy, and conditions that overwork the heart. Symptoms of heart failure include congested lungs, fluid and water retention, dizziness, fatigue and weakness, and rapid or irregular heartbeats.
-
Pregnancy Planning
- Pregnancy planning is important to help prevent exposure of the mother and fetus to potentially harmful medications and substances during the early days, and throughout the pregnancy. Nutritional planning, prevention of birth defects, conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and kidney disease need careful monitoring. Gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and pregnancy induced hypertension are conditions that may arise during pregnancy. Immunizations, inherited disorders, exercise, air travel, intercourse, and birth control are important factors to consider when planning a pregnancy.
-
Genetic Counseling
- Your health care provider may refer you to a genetic professional. Universities and medical centers also often have affiliated genetic professionals, or can provide referrals to a genetic professional or genetics clinic. Genetic counseling provides patients and family members the tools to make the right choice in regard to test for a disease or condition.
-
Anemia
-
Medications
3 articles -
Procedures & Tests
5 articles -
Pictures, Images & Quizzes
0 articles -
Doctor's & Expert's Views
1 articles -
Health News
0 articles -
Health Features
1 articles
