beta-thalassemia

noun

be·​ta-thal·​as·​se·​mia ˈbā-tə-ˌtha-lə-ˈsē-mē-ə How to pronounce beta-thalassemia (audio)
: thalassemia in which the longer hemoglobin chain is affected and which comprises Cooley's anemia in the homozygous condition and thalassemia minor in the heterozygous condition

Examples of beta-thalassemia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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His technologies have already been distributed in labs globally, resulting in thousands of advances in research, biomedicine, and agriculture, and have already shown life-saving results in treatment of T-cell leukemia, sickle cell disease, beta-thalassemia, and high cholesterol. Ashley Lan, HollywoodReporter, 11 Apr. 2025 And 39 out of 42 beta-thalassemia patients no longer needed blood or bone marrow transplants—the standard treatment for this disease—for one year after the exa-cel intervention. Sara Reardon, Scientific American, 8 Dec. 2023 One of them, which treats a blood disorder called beta-thalassemia, costs $2.8 million. Emily Mullin, WIRED, 10 July 2023 All eyes right now are on exa-cel, a gene-editing therapy that awaits regulatory approvals for use in two conditions — sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia. The Motley Fool, Dallas News, 10 May 2023 Other licensed gene therapies, like Novartis’s Zolgensma for spinal muscular dystrophy and Bluebird bio’s Zynteglo for beta-thalassemia, cost $2.1 million and $2.8 million, respectively. Megan Molteni, STAT, 7 Mar. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of beta-thalassemia was in 1962

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Cite this Entry

“Beta-thalassemia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beta-thalassemia. Accessed 1 May. 2025.

Medical Definition

beta-thalassemia

noun
be·​ta-thal·​as·​se·​mia
variants or β-thalassemia or British beta-thalassaemia or β-thalassaemia
-ˌthal-ə-ˈsē-mē-ə
: thalassemia in which the hemoglobin chains designated beta are affected and which comprises Cooley's anemia in the homozygous condition and thalassemia minor in the heterozygous condition compare alpha-thalassemia

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