ABSTRACT
Objective:To evaluate the correlation between glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency and neonatal jaundice.Methods: Prospective, observational case-control study was conducted on490 newborns admitted to Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre for phototherapy, who all experienced35 or more weeks of gestation, from March to December2007. Enzymatic screening ofG6PD activity was performed, followed byPCR.Results:There was prevalence of4.6% and a boy-girl ratio of3:1 in jaundiced newborns. No jaundiced neonate withABO incompatibility presented G6PD deficiency, and no Mediterranean mutation was found. A higher proportion of deficiency was observed in Afro-descendants. There was no association withUGT1A1 variants. Conclusions:G6PD deficiency is not related to severe hyperbilirubinemia and considering the high miscegenation in this area of Brazil, other gene interactions should be investigated.
ABSTRACT
Alpha thalassemia has not been systematically investigated in Brazil. In this study, 493 unrelated individuals from the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul were screened for deletional forms of α-thalassemia. One hundred and one individuals had microcytic anemia (MCV < 80 fL) and a normal hemoglobin pattern (Hb A2 < 3.5 percent and Hb F < 1 percent). The subjects were screened for -α3.7,-α4.2,-α20.5, -SEA and -MED deletions but only the -α3.7 allele was detected. The -α3.7 allele frequency in Brazilians of European and African ancestry was 0.02 and 0.12, respectively, whereas in individuals with microcytosis the frequency was 0.20. The prevalence of α-thalassemia was significantly higher in individuals with microcytosis than in healthy individuals (p = 0.001), regardless of their ethnic origin. There were also significant differences in the hematological parameters of individuals with -α3.7/αα, -α3.7/α3.7 and β-thalassemia trait compared to healthy subjects. These data suggest that α-thalassemia is an important cause of microcytosis and mild anemia in Brazilians.