HB F and HB A

Hi all

1) What is the difference between HB F and HB A(adult) in terms of their nature? I know that one is fetal and stays in the body until it starts to be exchanged with the adult one and thal are known to have it as part of their blood. My question is the difference in their capabilities, usefulness, being equal in functions................etc.

I know for example that HB A is able to carry glucose and oxygen while HB F carries only glucose and that is why it is found in the fetus as they don't use their lungs inside the womb of their mothers so HB A is not needed.

2) What do you think???
If HB F was of any use or benefit to humans, God could have let it continue and there would be no use for the HB A as it will add nothing???
OR
Having HB F is gift for thal as it works as an alternative to HB A even if it is not an equal alternative?

3) Does HB F comes also from the bone marow??

4) If you are intermedia, is it possible to calculate the percentage of good blood that you have?

Sorry for too much questions. But my mind can't stop thinking

Take care

Manal

HbF does carry oxygen and actually has a higher affinity for oxygen than HbA. It has been observed that even a small increase in HbF in thal patients is beneficial. In non-thals, HbA replaces HbF within the first year. HbA is more suited to the needs of the body after birth but HbF works well too and because of its affinity for oxygen, lower Hb levels may be acceptable without a need for transfusions.

HbF is also made in the bone marrow and because of this, transfusion needs to cease for several months before an HbF inducer shows its effects, as stopping transfusion will once again activate the bone marrow, and red cell production can begin. If the inducer works (such as hydroxyurea) the RBCs will contain more useful hemoglobin.

I think HbF is a gift. It is produced by a gene that can be activated by different drugs and also some natural things such as wheatgrass. The fact that it can be induced with natural means tells me that we have been given natural medicines to help with thal and an effort should be made to identify them. My own belief all along has been that getting the body to make its own good blood is by far the best approach to thal treatment. More drugs are believed to be able to turn the HbF gene back on and they are safer than the current used drugs but lack of funding has prevented funding for research and development of new drugs. It is short sighted to underfund this research as it offers the most hope with the fewest side effects of any of the potential cures for thal.

The size and shape of RBCs are readily apparent in a red blood cell count which is part of a complete blood count. Electrophoresis will tell you how much and what types of hemoglobin are present. Both the amount of good cells and hemoglobin can be measured with these tests.

Thanks a lot Andy for this information, they are valuable.

I too hope hat funds would be available for these drugs, but to do this again our voice should be heard.

I reviewed the HPLC of my son and found that :

HB A1 is 81.5 %
HB F is 11.6 %
HB A2  is 6.9 %

Does this mean that this 81.5 % of HB A1 is good blood and if yes, why should his average HB 6.5 , I guess this percentage is quiet big for this low HB , do i make sense??

I understood from the other post that his HB Knossos doesn't appear in the HPLC it needs another test, am i right?  Does it interfere with this low HB?

Again , sorry for too much questions, but doctors are too busy to sit and answer patients' questions.

Take care

Manal