Sickle Cell Anemia News and Research RSS Feed - Sickle Cell Anemia News and Research

Sickle cell anemia is a serious disease in which the body makes sickle-shaped red blood cells. “Sickle-shaped” means that the red blood cells are shaped like a "C." Normal red blood cells are disc-shaped and look like doughnuts without holes in the center. They move easily through your blood vessels. Red blood cells contain the protein hemoglobin. This iron-rich protein gives blood its red color and carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. Sickle cells contain abnormal hemoglobin that causes the cells to have a sickle shape. Sickle-shaped cells don’t move easily through your blood vessels. They’re stiff and sticky and tend to form clumps and get stuck in the blood vessels. (Other cells also may play a role in this clumping process.) The clumps of sickle cells block blood flow in the blood vessels that lead to the limbs and organs. Blocked blood vessels can cause pain, serious infections, and organ damage.
Large numbers of ER visits go unreported in calculating hospital readmission rates

Large numbers of ER visits go unreported in calculating hospital readmission rates

A study led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Boston University School of Medicine has found that nearly one quarter of patients may return to the emergency department within 30 days of being discharged from a hospitalization. [More]

VCU researchers shed light on biopsychosocial, spiritual effects of taking opioids for noncancer pain

Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University sought to shed light on the biopsychosocial and spiritual effects of taking prescribed opioids to treat noncancer pain. [More]
MU researchers redefine key regulatory process in defective protein responsible for cystic fibrosis

MU researchers redefine key regulatory process in defective protein responsible for cystic fibrosis

A little more than a year after the FDA approved Kalydeco (Vx-770), the first drug of its kind to treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis, University of Missouri researchers believe they have found exactly how this drug works and how to improve its effectiveness in the future. [More]
Study shows co-administration of Cialis, finasteride meets primary endpoint in men with LUTS/BPH

Study shows co-administration of Cialis, finasteride meets primary endpoint in men with LUTS/BPH

Eli Lilly and Company presented results today at the annual European Association of Urology Congress in Milan, Italy, of a study that showed Cialis 5 mg once daily co-administered with finasteride significantly improved scores on the International Prostate Symptom Score, compared to placebo/finasteride, in men with lower urinary tract symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia and enlarged prostates. [More]
The clock runs out on averting sequestration

The clock runs out on averting sequestration

Time ticked down to March 1 -- also known as sequestration D-day -- without the White House and lawmakers finding a way to avert the scheduled cuts. [More]
First Edition: March 1, 2013

First Edition: March 1, 2013

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey reports: "David P. Blom is one of thousands of hospital executives across the country who are bracing for a reduction in Medicare payments as part of a series of federal spending cuts that begin Friday. Blom, 58, is president and chief executive officer of OhioHealth, a Columbus, Ohio, based not-for-profit health care system that includes 18 hospitals, 23 health and surgery centers, home-health providers and other facilities." [More]
Tranylcypromine may also hold promise in treating sickle cell disease

Tranylcypromine may also hold promise in treating sickle cell disease

An antidepressant drug used since the 1960s may also hold promise for treating sickle cell disease, according to a surprising new finding made in mice and human red blood cells by a team from the University of Michigan Medical School. [More]
New approach could make gene therapy dramatically more effective for HIV patients

New approach could make gene therapy dramatically more effective for HIV patients

A research team from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has discovered an approach that could make gene therapy dramatically more effective for patients. [More]
Sangamo BioSciences fourth quarter revenues increase to $8.9 million

Sangamo BioSciences fourth quarter revenues increase to $8.9 million

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. today reported fourth quarter and full year 2012 financial results and accomplishments. [More]
Novel way to engineer specialized immune cells targeted by the AIDS virus

Novel way to engineer specialized immune cells targeted by the AIDS virus

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found a novel way to engineer key cells of the immune system so they remain resistant to infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. [More]
Biophysical Society Annual Meeting to highlight innovations in medicine, physics, and more

Biophysical Society Annual Meeting to highlight innovations in medicine, physics, and more

Honeybee silk-inspired materials; a deconstruction of the Ebola virus; how microbes evolve resistance to antibiotics; and a possible connection between Alzheimer's disease and type II diabetes are just some of the intriguing topics that will be presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society (BPS). [More]

Mutation that causes sickle cell anemia may offer new way to treat drug-resistant cancers

The genetic mutation that causes sickle cell anemia also turns red blood cells into potent tumor killers and may offer a new way to treat cancers that are resistant to existing treatments, according to research published January 9, 2013 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by David S. Terman of Jenomic Research Institute and colleagues from Duke University and other institutions. [More]

Sickle cell disease trial completes phase 3 patient enrollment

Emmaus Medical, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical and regenerative medicine company, today announced the completion of patient enrollment for its phase 3 clinical trial to study L-glutamine as a treatment for sickle cell disease. [More]
Lilly receives EC approval for Cialis to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia

Lilly receives EC approval for Cialis to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia

Eli Lilly and Company announced today that the European Commission has approved Cialis 5 mg for once daily use for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). [More]
Sickle cell disease treatments: An interview with Dr Niihara, CEO of Emmaus Medical

Sickle cell disease treatments: An interview with Dr Niihara, CEO of Emmaus Medical

Sickle cell disease is a devastating hereditary condition that affects millions of people, particularly those in West and Central Africa as well as people of African descent in the United States, Europe and South America. [More]

Bone marrow transplants hold promise for sickle cell patients

Research shows that even partially matched bone marrow transplants are able to eliminate sickle cell disease in some patients with sickle cell anemia. [More]

Researchers to probe causes, treatments of toxic reactions in blood plasma

In the largest undertaking of its kind, scientists at four leading U.S. research institutions are embarking upon a five-year National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study to make blood transfusions safer and more effective by uncovering the exact causes of hemoglobin toxicity. [More]

Parents of sickle cell babies undercounseled

Parents of newborns with the sickle cell anemia trait are significantly less likely to receive genetic counseling than those of babies who are cystic fibrosis carriers, say researchers. [More]
Parents of infants with cystic fibrosis carriers more likely to receive genetic counseling

Parents of infants with cystic fibrosis carriers more likely to receive genetic counseling

Parents of newborns with the sickle cell anemia trait were less likely to receive genetic counseling than parents whose babies are cystic fibrosis carriers, a new study from the University of Michigan shows. [More]
Data from Sangamo BioSciences’ SB-728-T Phase 1 clinical programs on HIV/AIDS

Data from Sangamo BioSciences’ SB-728-T Phase 1 clinical programs on HIV/AIDS

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. announced that data from its Phase 1 clinical programs to develop SB-728-T, a novel therapeutic approach designed to generate a "functional cure" for HIV/AIDS, were presented at the 52nd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC). [More]