Neapolis (CD 126 β+ GTG→GGG) : a result of a screening in Campania, a region in Southern Italy

Between January 1995 and December 2005, we conducted a screening program for the presence of Hb Neapolis, a rare abnormal Hb variant, in Campania, a region in Southern Italy. Nineteen patients with Hb Neapolis in heterozygosis and six patients with a genetic compound (Hb Neapolis/β-thalassemia) were identified. Patients with Hb Neapolis in heterozygosis showed a slight alteration in HbA2 levels while compounds showed typical characteristics of thalassemia intermedia ranging from a non transfusion-dependent form for five patients to a transfusion-dependent form for one adult patient.