β-thalassemia distribution in the old world: An ancient disease seen from a historical standpoint

Vincenzo De Sanctis^*, Christos Kattamis, Duran Canatan, Ashraf T. Soliman, Heba Elsedfy, Mehran Karimi, Shahina Daar, Yasser Wali, Mohamed Yassin, Nada Soliman, Praveen Sobti, Soad Al Jaouni, Mohamed El Kholy, Bernadette Fiscina, Michael Angastiniotis