Sickle Cell Anemia News and Research

Latest Sickle Cell Anemia News and Research

New method to estimate sickle cell disease severity

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) have developed a method to estimate sickle cell disease severity and predict the risk of death in people with this disease.

12 Jul 2007

Steroidal hormones for contraception in women with sickle cell disease

Hormonal contraceptives are unlikely to predispose women to type 2 diabetes and appear to be safe for those with sickle cell anemia.

4 May 2007

New biotech company develops UD-patented technologies for repairing genes

OrphageniX Inc., a new biotechnology company founded by University of Delaware researchers, has been established in Wilmington to develop and commercialize UD-patented technologies for repairing genes that cause rare, hereditary diseases such as sickle cell anemia and spinal muscular atrophy.

25 Apr 2007

HRSA to allocate $14M to public umbilical cord blood banks

HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration plans to allocate $14 million to public umbilical cord blood banks nationwide in an effort to increase the supply of cord blood from 50,000 to 150,000 units, the AP/Washington Post reports.

17 Oct 2006

Sperm donor passes rare dangerous disease on to four children

According to a new report in the U.S., a sperm donor may have unwittingly passed an extremely rare and dangerous genetic ailment to five children born to four couples.

22 May 2006

Researchers identify the role of a protein in hemoglobin gene silencing

Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers have identified the role of a protein in hemoglobin gene silencing that may one day be a potential target for the treatment of genetic blood disorders like sickle-cell anemia and beta-thalassemia on the molecular level.

11 Apr 2006

Rapamycin (sirolimus) may be effective in treating kidney disease

A widely available drug may be effective in treating kidney disease, report scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara. They describe the discovery in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.

21 Mar 2006

Test for LDH enzyme may help determine risk factors in sickle cell disease

Researchers have found that a simple test for an enzyme called LDH may have significant importance for determining major risk factors in adults with sickle cell disease.

9 Mar 2006

Cellular discovery suggests possibilities for drug therapy for kidney disease

Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara have reported a discovery at the cellular level that suggests possibilities for drug therapy for kidney disease.

13 Feb 2006

Education campaign on umbilical cord and placental blood donation

The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services Commissioner Fred M. Jacobs, M.D., J.D. has launched an educational campaign to inform expectant mothers of the life-saving value of newborn umbilical cord and placental blood.

23 Jan 2006

UCLA examines disease-versus-disease interactions

The knowledge that one disease may prevent the onset of another is not new. For example, the discovery that cowpox vaccines can prevent smallpox dates back to 1798.

5 Jan 2006

University at Buffalo researches rules for targeting RNA

Once described as DNA's less-famous chemical cousin, RNA, or ribonucleic acid, recently has moved to center stage.

15 Dec 2005

Better understanding of T cell response

Swedish and U.K. researchers report that an apparently "acute" human viral infection can cause a persistent, activated CD8+ T cell response a long time after patients have recovered.

1 Nov 2005

Adult sickle cell drug hydroxyurea proves effective in young children

A drug used for the treatment of sickle cell anemia in adults has now been shown to cause significant improvements in very young children with the disorder.

20 Sep 2005

Can a new combination treatment prevent a secondary stroke in children with sickle cell anemia?

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will lead a national Phase III clinical trial to investigate whether a new combination treatment can prevent a secondary stroke in children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) and eliminate the need for nightly injections with a drug that reduces iron overload in these patients.

1 Sep 2005

New chemical compound can accelerate stem cell mobilization

The finding has led to the development of a new chemical compound that can accelerate this process (called stem cell mobilization) in mice - which could eventually lead to more efficient stem cell harvesting for human use.

26 Jul 2005

Chemical sealant - poloxamer 188 can repair damage to cardiac muscle cell membrane

A common chemical used in the manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries can repair damage to cardiac muscle cell membranes and prevent heart failure in mice with the genetic mutation that causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy, according to scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School.

18 Jul 2005

Research discovers new deadly link to sickle cell disease

A new study led by a researcher at Children's Hospital & Research Center at Oakland is the first to find that an amino acid deficiency in sickle cell disease is the result of hemolysis, a process where red blood cells rupture and release their contents into the blood stream. Low availability of the amino acid arginine is associated with lung disease and death in adult sickle cell patients.

6 Jul 2005

Scientists discover identifying markers for primitive blood-forming stem cells - simplifies cell identification

Scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School have discovered the biological equivalent of a grocery store bar code on the surface of primitive, blood-forming stem cells in mice. Called hematopoietic stem cells, they give rise to all the different types of specialized cells found in blood.

30 Jun 2005

Hydroxyurea may prevent complications such as organ damage and stunted growth in treatment of sickle cell disease

Treating babies who have sickle cell disease (SCD) with oral liquid hydroxyurea appears to prevent the onset of long-term complications triggered by this disease, according to results of a preliminary study by investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

16 Jun 2005