Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle-cell disease, or sickle-cell anaemia (or drepanocytosis), is a life-long blood disorder characterized by red blood cells that assume an abnormal, rigid, sickle shape. Sickling decreases the cells' flexibility and results in a risk of various complications.

Understanding Sickle Cell Disease

World Sickle Cell Day is June 19 and was created by the United Nations in 2006 to raise global awareness for sickle cell disease as a public health problem. Sickle cell disease is an extremely debilitating medical condition.

What is Sickle-Cell Disease?

Sickle-Cell Disease Classification

Sickle Cell Disease Diagnosis

Sickle-Cell Disease Pathophysiology

Sickle-Cell Disease Genetics

Sickle-Cell Disease Treatment

Sickle-Cell Disease History

Sickle Cell Disease Carriers

Sickle-Cell Disease Symptoms

What is Sickle Cell Trait (SCT)?

Treatment Options for Sickle Cell Disease

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COVID-19 and Sickle Cell Disease

Current Challenges in Sickle Cell Disease

Latest Sickle Cell Disease News and Research

Researchers create novel drug that can prevent flu-induced lung injury

Infection with the influenza virus leads to lung injury through inflammation over-activation that causes collateral damage to cells required for breathing.

10 Apr 2024

Novel therapeutic approach identified for overcoming resistance in B-cell leukemia

Despite having an overall survival rate of 94%, B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), the most common childhood cancer, can prove challenging to treat, with survival among relapsed or resistant cases falling between 30-50%.

8 Apr 2024

New treatment paradigm focuses on reverting cancer cells to normal state

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists reversed an aggressive cancer, reverting malignant cells towards a more normal state. Rhabdoid tumors are an aggressive cancer which is missing a key tumor suppressor protein.

27 Mar 2024

Migraines and other nontraditional factors linked to higher stroke risk in young adults

Adults younger than 35- to 45-years old may have a higher risk of developing a stroke from nontraditional risk factors such as migraines than from traditional risks like high blood pressure.

26 Mar 2024

Scientists uncover four proteins that govern the identity of anaplastic large cell lymphoma

A collaboration between scientists from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute uncovered four proteins that govern the identity of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), an aggressive form of cancer.

22 Mar 2024

Immune cell protein identified as potential target for rare liver cancer treatment

Fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC) is a rare liver cancer with a poor prognosis if not addressed early with surgery. The disease is caused by a single genetic mutation that creates a fusion protein.

20 Mar 2024

Breakthrough in CRISPR delivery promises safer gene editing

Recent research in PNAS highlights advancements in non-viral, cell-specific delivery methods for CRISPR-Cas systems, emphasizing their potential to enhance research and gene therapy applications by minimizing risks associated with off-target effects and improving targeted delivery.

7 Mar 2024

Study finds lack of preventative care for children with sickle cell anemia

Children with sickle cell anemia are vulnerable to serious infections and stroke, but many do not receive the preventative care that could help them stay healthier for longer, a Children's Hospital Los Angeles study found.

6 Mar 2024

Higher COVID-19 death risk found in sickle cell disease and trait patients

UdeM's Stéphanie Forté and co-researchers in Canada and Brazil have shown how people with sickle cell disease or sickle cell trait have a higher chance of dying from COVID-19 than the general population.

29 Feb 2024

Breakthrough gene therapy method utilizes bird retrotransposon for safe gene insertion

The recent approval of a CRISPR-Cas9 therapy for sickle cell disease demonstrates that gene editing tools can do a superb job knocking out genes to cure hereditary disease.

20 Feb 2024

Pain screening could improve care for youth with sickle cell disease

A recent study from researchers at University Hospitals (UH) Connor Whole Health and UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital describes a quality improvement project where pain screening procedures were embedded within an outpatient pediatric sickle cell disease (SCD) clinic.

13 Feb 2024

Novel approach improves CAR T-cell therapy efficacy against acute myeloid leukemia

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists improved chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T–cell immunotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), demonstrating better efficacy in the lab.

12 Feb 2024

Associations between ultra-processed food consumption and phthalate exposures in pregnant women

Researchers explored the relationship between consuming ultra-processed foods and urinary phthalate concentrations during pregnancy.

12 Feb 2024

Breakthrough gene-editing therapy transforms lives of patients with a hereditary disorder

A group of patients with a hereditary disorder have had their lives transformed by a single treatment of a breakthrough gene-editing therapy, according to the lead researcher.

2 Feb 2024

CRISPR revolutionized: New method edits genes directly in the body

Most approved gene therapies today, including those involving CRISPR-Cas9, work their magic on cells removed from the body, after which the edited cells are returned to the patient.

1 Feb 2024

Hydroxyurea treatment can greatly benefit children with sickle cell anemia, study reveals

Clinical research led by Indiana University School of Medicine investigators and their collaborators in Uganda has revealed that hydroxyurea significantly reduces infections in children with sickle cell anemia.

29 Jan 2024

CRISPR off-switch discovered: Safer gene editing for future therapies

Using CRISPR, an immune system bacteria use to protect themselves from viruses, scientists have harnessed the power to edit genetic information within cells.

19 Jan 2024

St. Jude announces $13 million investment to expand the understanding of G-protein coupled receptors

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital today announced a nearly $13 million investment toward a new research collaboration with scientists at Columbia University, Duke University and Stanford University to expand the understanding of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR), which are vital proteins that impact human health and disease.

18 Jan 2024

Review of traditional treatments and novel nutritional interventions for sickle cell disease

Nutrition-related studies involving sickle cell disease (SCD) patients, particularly those in Africa.

17 Jan 2024

Simple biomarkers offer early warning of hidden heart risk in childhood cancer survivors

Data from the St. Jude lifetime cohort study (St. Jude LIFE) revealed that two common biomarkers of cardiac function and damage could better predict cardiomyopathy within five years than routine clinical evaluations in high-risk, asymptomatic childhood cancer survivors.

11 Jan 2024

Sickle Cell Disease

Overview

What is Sickle-Cell Disease?

Sickle-Cell Disease Classification

Sickle Cell Disease Diagnosis

Feature Articles

Sickle-Cell Disease Pathophysiology

Sickle-Cell Disease Genetics

Sickle-Cell Disease Treatment

Sickle-Cell Disease History

Sickle Cell Disease Carriers

Sickle-Cell Disease Symptoms

What is Sickle Cell Trait (SCT)?

Treatment Options for Sickle Cell Disease

COVID-19 and Sickle Cell Disease

Current Challenges in Sickle Cell Disease

Latest Sickle Cell Disease News and Research

Researchers create novel drug that can prevent flu-induced lung injury

Novel therapeutic approach identified for overcoming resistance in B-cell leukemia

New treatment paradigm focuses on reverting cancer cells to normal state

Migraines and other nontraditional factors linked to higher stroke risk in young adults

Scientists uncover four proteins that govern the identity of anaplastic large cell lymphoma

Immune cell protein identified as potential target for rare liver cancer treatment

Breakthrough in CRISPR delivery promises safer gene editing

Study finds lack of preventative care for children with sickle cell anemia

Higher COVID-19 death risk found in sickle cell disease and trait patients

Breakthrough gene therapy method utilizes bird retrotransposon for safe gene insertion

Pain screening could improve care for youth with sickle cell disease

Novel approach improves CAR T-cell therapy efficacy against acute myeloid leukemia

Associations between ultra-processed food consumption and phthalate exposures in pregnant women

Breakthrough gene-editing therapy transforms lives of patients with a hereditary disorder

CRISPR revolutionized: New method edits genes directly in the body

Hydroxyurea treatment can greatly benefit children with sickle cell anemia, study reveals

CRISPR off-switch discovered: Safer gene editing for future therapies

St. Jude announces $13 million investment to expand the understanding of G-protein coupled receptors

Review of traditional treatments and novel nutritional interventions for sickle cell disease

Simple biomarkers offer early warning of hidden heart risk in childhood cancer survivors

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

Sickle Cell Disease

Overview

Feature Articles

Sickle-Cell Disease Pathophysiology

Sickle-Cell Disease Genetics

Sickle-Cell Disease Treatment

Sickle-Cell Disease History

Sickle Cell Disease Carriers

Sickle-Cell Disease Symptoms

What is Sickle Cell Trait (SCT)?

Treatment Options for Sickle Cell Disease

COVID-19 and Sickle Cell Disease

Current Challenges in Sickle Cell Disease

Latest Sickle Cell Disease News and Research

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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