Can homeopathy bring additional benefits to thalassemic patients on hydroxyurea therapy? Encouraging results of a preliminary study.

Several homeopathic remedies, namely, Pulsatilla Nigricans (30th potency), Ceanothus Americanus (both mother tincture and 6th potency) and Ferrum Metallicum (30th potency) selected as per similia principles were administered to 38 thalassemic patients receiving Hydroxyurea (HU) therapy for a varying period of time. Levels of serum ferritin (SF), fetal hemoglobin (HbF), hemoglobin (Hb), platelet count (PC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), white blood cell (WBC) count, bilirubin content, alanine amino transferase (ALT), aspartate amino transferase (AST) and serum total protein content of patients were determined before and 3 months after administration of the homeopathic remedies in combination with HU to evaluate additional benefits, if any, derived by the homeopathic remedies, by comparing the data with those of 38 subjects receiving only HU therapy. Preliminary results indicated that there was a significant decrease in the SF and increase in HbF levels in the combined, treated subjects.

Crystal structures of HbA2 and HbE and modeling of hemoglobin delta 4: interpretation of the thermal stability and the antisickling effect of HbA2 and identification of the ferrocyanide binding site in Hb.

Hemoglobin A(2) (alpha(2)delta(2)) is an important hemoglobin variant which is a minor component (2-3%) in the circulating red blood cells, and its elevated concentration in beta-thalassemia is a useful clinical diagnostic. In beta-thalassemia major, where there is beta-chain production failure, HbA(2) acts as the predominant oxygen deliverer. HbA(2) has two more important features.

Interaction of erythroid spectrin with hemoglobin variants: implications in beta-thalassemia.

Among the few studies, producing contradictory results, done on the interaction of erythroid membrane skeletal spectrin with hemoglobin (Hb), none has been able to provide a quantitative estimate of the association of spectrin with Hb. In this work, studies on the interactions of erythroid spectrin with Hb have been elaborated upon using a novel fluorescence technique. The concentration-dependent change in the fluorescence intensity of fluorescein-conjugated spectrin (F-spectrin) in presence of oxy-Hb indicated binding with a dissociation constant of approximately 20 microM that has been directly evaluated from the increase in the extent of quenching of the fluorescein fluorescence of F-spectrin by reverse titration with the increasing concentrations of different Hb samples isolated from both normal and beta-thalassemic patients.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray structural studies of hemoglobin A2 and hemoglobin E, isolated from the blood samples of beta-thalassemic patients.

Hemoglobin A(2) (alpha(2)delta(2)), a minor (2-3%) component of circulating red blood cells, acts as an anti-sickling agent and its elevated concentration in beta-thalassemia is a useful clinical diagnostic. In beta-thalassemia major, where there is a failure of beta-chain production, HbA(2) acts as the predominant oxygen delivery mechanism. Hemoglobin E, is another common abnormal hemoglobin, caused by splice site mutation in exon 1 of beta globin gene, when combines with beta-thalassemia, causes severe microcytic anemia.