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There is a description of an observation of patient N., aged 29, (a student of Russian University for Peoples' Friendship and a citizen of Tanzania) suffering from sickle-cell anemia--SCA--(HbSS), homozygous type, which was detected at screening of abnormal Hb by electrophoresis on the cellulose acetate strips. The results of clinical-and-biological examinations of the patients are described. The patient had anemia (Hb 98-83 g/L); thrombotic (pain) crises with dark urination were periodically observed. HbS accounted for the bulwark (98%) of Hb, while small fractions of Hb (HbF and HbA2) were within the normal limits. This was a comparatively mild form of the disease; the patient had minor changes in the heart and lungs with other internal bodies being intact. Patient N. received, from childhood, an appropriate therapy including antibiotics, folic acid, analgesics etc. Obviously, this provides for an explanation to that he lived up to 29 years, withstood the acclimatization in Russia and could get education. A comparison of the clinical-and-laboratory indices of patient N. with the data of patients with SCA of other types (HbS-thalassemia, HbSC and HbSK) is presented.

The content of glycated hemoglobin (Hb A1c) evaluated by high pressure chromatography on a VARIANT analyzer using Hb A1c software correlated with the mean daily blood glucose level in the majority of diabetics with types 1 and 2 disease and helped evaluate the compensation of diabetes mellitus during the latest 2-3 months of observation. Low Hb A1c values in combination with an extra hemoglobin fraction, unidentified by the software we used, were detected in 3 Russian women suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus, with high blood glucose levels. Application of Hemoglobinopathy software showed an abnormal spectrum of hemoglobin fractions in the blood of all 3 patients: appearance of hemoglobin D paralleled by decrease of Hb A0. The presence of abnormal hemoglobin D in these patients was confirmed by the results of electrophoresis on cellulose acetate films and a negative test for sickle erythrocytes. Abnormal hemoglobins are responsible for discoordination between glucose content and Hb A1c in the blood of diabetics. Measurement of serum fructosamine is recommended for evaluation of diabetes compensation in patients with hemoglobinopathies.

Screening of the university students for hemoglobinopathies detected 153 patients with various hemoglobin abnormalities; 69 with Hb AS, 3 with Hb S-beta-thalassemia, 4 with Hb S-alpha-thalassemia, 3 with hb SC, 1 with Hb SK, 1 with Hb CC, 38 with Hb AC, 1 with Hb A O Arab, 4 with Hb EE, 25 with Hb AE, 1 with Hb AD, 1 with Hb AI, 1 with beta-thalassemia major, and 1 with beta-thalassemia minor. The most grave disease was observed in a child with Hb S-beta-thalassemia and in a youth with beta-thalassemia major. The patterns of Hb SC disease varied. The majority of heterozygote carriers of Hb S, Hb C, Hb E, etc. were healthy. A total of 7000 students were screened by express electrophoresis on cellulose acetate films. more than 400 subjects with abnormal hemoglobins were detected, the most numerous of which were heterozygote carriers of Hb S (Hb AS).

Twenty subjects--patients with anemia and their close relatives representing 7 families, were tested for thalassemia. Heterozygotic beta-thalassemia was detected in 17 cases. The national composition of this patient population was as follows: 7 Pathans (Afghanistan), 1 family; 2 Armenians (Georgia), mother and son; 2 Tajiks, sibs; 2 patients of mixed Russian-Ukrainian-Polish-Azerbaijan origin, mother and son; 1 Russian-Arab child and his Arab father (Syria); 1 Uzbek woman and 1 Russian child. The mean content of Hb in the blood for patients with heterozygotic beta-thalassemia is 110 +/- 3.8 g/liter, that of HbA2 fraction 4.8 +/- 0.26% and of HbF fraction 2.6 +/- 0.39%. Clinical manifestations of the disease varied, being more grave in children than in adults. In an Armenian family from Batumi thalassemia minor was diagnosed in the mother and son, whereas in the father and other son a periodic disease was revealed. In a family of 7 members from Afghanistan thalassemia minor was found in 4 representing the paternal line, minimal thalassemia was suspected in 3, and a deficiency of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in red blood cells was revealed in 5: in the mother and 4 children. No increase of methemoglobin level was revealed in either of the examinees.

Type EFPA-30 apparatus for electrophoresis on cellulose acetate films was developed at the Specialized Design Office for Biophysical Equipment of the Moscow Research and Production Association BIOFIZPRIBOR. Three autonomic separation cameras are united in one block, that permits separation of 12, 24, and 36 samples; the apparatus is supplied with time transducer, acoustic and visual indication. Clinical trials of the apparatus were carried out at the Institute of Biological and Medical Chemistry of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, its commercial production is to be started. The apparatus is intended for protein separation and may be used for studies of hemoglobins, serum proteins, lipoproteins, enzymes, and other biologic compounds. Methods for hemoglobin and serum protein separation are presented.