Chinese scientists try to find new therapy for Mediterranean anemia

China launched a research program on the treatment of beta thalassemia, a predominant type of Mediterranean anemia, in Guangzhou, the capital city of south China's Guangdong province, on Saturday. The program will focus on the study of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in the treatment of monogenic diseases, according to the program's chief scientist Dr. Pan Guangjin. Scientists from several Chinese medical institutions and universities, including Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), CAS Institute of Zoology, Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Hainan Medical University and Shandong University, will join the five-year program. Mediterranean anemia, also called thalassemia, is an inherited blood disorder characterized by less hemoglobin and fewer red blood cells. Several types of thalassemia exist, including alpha thalassemia, beta- thalassemia and alpha thalassemia. In China, the disease is most frequently seen in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Fujian and Guangdong provinces. Medical therapies for Mediterranean anemia include frequent blood transfusions, iron chelation and stem cell transplant.