Red-cell metabolism of pyridoxine in controls and beta-Thalassaemia in Ferrara, Northern Italy.

The rate of red-cell metabolism of pyridoxine to pyridoxal phosphate was measured in control subjects and patients with homozygous and heterozygous beta-thalassaemia from Ferrara, Northern Italy, and in British control subjects of Anglo-Saxon origin. A high incidence of a slow rate of B6 metabolism was found in beta-thalassaemia in Ferrara similar to that found previously in Cypriots living in London. Of particular interest was a much slower rate in control subjects from Ferrara than in British control subjects of Anglo-Saxon origin. The suggestion that a high incidence of a slow red-cell metabolism of B6 is the result of selection by malaria, whether associated with thalassaemia or not, is considered.