Análise da coexistência da alfa talassemia e identificação de haplótipos do cluster da beta globina em crianças com doença falciforme

Abstract

Introduction: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common monogenic hereditary disease in Brazil. The term SCD includes sickle cell anaemia and pathological conditions in which the S haemoglobin gene is associated with other hereditary hemoglobinopathies, as SC, S/beta0 and S/beta+ talassemia (S/b), SD Punjab, among others. Five different types of beta globin chain (βS) cluster haplotypes linked to HbS have been described: Asian, Senegalese, Benin, Bantu (CAR) and Cameroon. SCD can also coexist with alpha thalassemia (α-Tal). The most severe complication on SCD is stroke, which is responsible for 20% of mortality. The causes and factors that could increase the risk of stroke are not completely known. Many lines of research suggest that a genetic signature could influence the occurrence of stroke. Objective: Determine the frequency of SCD , identify the haplotypes and study the associations between these genetic determinants and stroke in children screened by the Minas Gerais’ State Program of Neonatal Screening and followed-up in Fundação Hemominas in Juiz de Fora. Methods: A retrospective cohort was established, in which were included children born between 1998 and 2007, with confirmed diagnosis of SCD. Children with sickle cell anaemia, SC, S/b0 and S/b+ were included. The clinical and laboratorial information were extracted from medical records until December 31st, 2013, allowing a follow-up of at least five years. The socioeconomic profile was obtained by applying the Anísio Teixeira National Institute of Studies and Educational Research questionnaire. The haplotype determination and presence of α-Tal was documented through the usage of polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragments length polymorphisms. The statistical analysis of such associations was performed by application of the chi-square test considering a level of significance of 5%, with SPSS Statistics® 14.0 program. The project was approved by Fundação Hemominas’s Reasearch Ethics Committee. Results: Between 1998 and 2007, 188,916 children were screened in Minas Gerais’ Zona da Mata e Vertentes region, 110 children with SCD fulfilled the inclusion 13 criteria and composed the population of this study. Among children with SCD, 60% were carriers of sickle cell anemia. The prevalence of coexistence with α-Tal was 30.3% and the Bantu (CAR) haplotype was identified in 89.2%. The incidence of stroke was significantly higher in children with sickle cell anemia (27.3% versus 2.3%; p = 0.001) and in the male gender (24.1% versus 9.6%; p = 0.044). Presence of α-Tal (p = 0.196), CAR haplotype (p = 0.543) and socioeconomic factors were not significantly associated with the occurrence of stroke. Conclusion: Children with sickle cell anemia have 12 times increased risk of having a stroke than patients with other types of SCD. The incidence of stroke in the male gender was higher. Coexistence with α-Tal and CAR haplotype were not significantly associated with stroke. Heterogeneity between previously assessed populations and non reproducibility among studies indicate the need to conduct further research to determine the role of these genetic factors in children with SCD.