"FAST" HEMOGLOBIN COMPONENT FOUND IN UMBILICAL-CORD BLOOD OF THAI BABIES

Abstract

Four hundred and fifteen specimens of cord blood collected from the Thai population were examined; 22 contained an electrophoretically "fast"-moving component of hemoglobin, an incidence of 5.2%. No other abnormal hemoglobin was found in the specimens of cord blood. Eleven of the babies with abnormal hemoglobin were examined; hematologic findings were within normal limits. Five were followed for 2½ to 8 months; the abnormal component disappeared within 76 to 101 days. One of these children subsequently developed hemoglobin E. Another baby, 2 days of age when first seen, had the "fast" component of hemoglobin in the blood. She was the only child in the group who had marked hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, reticulocytosis, and nucleated erythrocytes in the peripheral blood. These abnormalities subsequently disappeared, but at 112 days a small amount of the "fast" component of hemoglobin persisted and hemoglobin E had appeared. The blood of 412 mothers revealed an incident of 10% hemoglobin E, the only abnormal hemoglobin detected by paper electrophoresis. The concentration of hemoglobin A2 was determined on the blood drawn from nine parents of babies with abnormal "fast" hemoglobin; the value was normal in all instances. Microcytosis and increased resistance of the erythrocytes in hypotonic saline solution, however, was found frequently among the parents of affected babies. The abnormal "fast" component of hemoglobin was identical with "Barts" hemoglobin. Its characteristics suggest that it may be an abnormal fetal hemoglobin.