HEMOLYTIC ANEMIA File:Pathology of G6PD deficiency.png Wikimedia Commons Pentose Phosphate Pathway made simple. This pathway has two major jobs: Generate NADPH Produce ribose 5 phosphate NADPH protects cells from oxidative stress and supports fatty acid, cholesterol, steroid, nitric oxide, and respiratory burst Although G6PD deficiency, which can cause problems in red blood cells upon certain triggers, is the most common human enzyme defect, affecting over 400 million people, including over 1 in 10 Black Pathology of G6PD deficiency Pathology Made Simple Frontiers Glucose 6 Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency and Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia: Insights on Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Gene Variants in Disease Heterogeneity