Absence of beta mRNA in beta0-thalassemia in Kurdish Jews

We report the characterization of the amount of beta mRNA in a Kurdish Jewish population with beta0-thalassemia using the same methods employed for characterization of the Catania and Ferrara beta0 patients. We found very low amounts of beta mRNA sequences, consistent with the presence of beta0-thalassemia of the beta mRNA-negative population type. In addition, no globin gene deletion was detected that could account for the absence of beta mRNA.