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.

Sickle Cell Disease Diagnosis

Sickle-Cell Disease Pathophysiology

Sickle-Cell Disease History

Sickle-Cell Disease Genetics

What is Sickle Cell Trait (SCT)?

Sickle-Cell Disease Classification

Treatment Options for Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle-Cell Disease Treatment

COVID-19 and Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle Cell Disease Carriers

What is Sickle-Cell Disease?

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Current Challenges in Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle-Cell Disease Symptoms

Latest Sickle Cell Disease News and Research

Circadian control of neutrophils limits heart damage after myocardial infarction

Neutrophils cause time-of-day–dependent collateral tissue damage after sterile injury through an intrinsic circadian program. Activating a CXCL12–CXCR4 checkpoint repositions neutrophils, limiting inflammatory injury without impairing antimicrobial defense.

15 Dec 2025

Mass General Brigham launches AI company to enhance clinical trial matching

Mass General Brigham is announcing the spinout of AIwithCare, a company founded by researchers from the health system who developed an artificial intelligence (AI) screening tool that significantly outperformed manual screening for determining a patient's eligibility and enrolling them in a clinical trial.

12 Dec 2025

Study finds no specific harms linked to hydroxyurea exposure during pregnancy

Taking the sickle cell drug hydroxyurea during or shortly before pregnancy does not appear to cause specific issues in newborns, according to the first prospective study of pregnancies involving hydroxyurea exposure.

7 Dec 2025

Challenges and opportunities in delivering gene therapies for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia

The first study assessing the real-world commercial roll-out of gene therapies for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia offers lessons learned to inform best practices as manufacturers and medical centers prepare to meet growing demand for gene therapies in the coming years.

7 Dec 2025

New evidence shows hematopoietic cell transplantation offers durable relief for sickle cell disease

Patients who underwent hematopoietic cell transplantation for sickle cell disease saw high rates of survival without disease symptoms and low rates of severe side effects or complications years after their procedure, according to a new study.

7 Dec 2025

Most sickle cell patients face long delays for recommended pain relief, study shows

A new study finds that only one in three patients visiting emergency departments (EDs) for severe pain associated with sickle cell disease received appropriate opioid-based pain-relieving medications within the first hour as recommended by the American Society of Hematology (ASH) and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

6 Dec 2025

Exa-cel shows complete success in early pediatric trials for sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia

Preliminary results from two trials of the gene therapy exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel) suggest the therapy offers an effective cure for beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease in children younger than 12.

6 Dec 2025

Cellarity's AI model predicts drug-induced liver injury

Cellarity, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing Cell State-Correcting therapies through integrated multi-omics and AI modeling, today announced the publication of a seminal manuscript in Nature Communications, which describes a novel framework for the prediction and characterization of drug-induced liver injury (DILI), along with open-source posting of the model and validation data.

13 Nov 2025

Study reveals the effectiveness of Painimation in decoding pain for sickle cell patients

Pain is a constant, complex companion that clinicians often struggle to understand and measure for people living with sickle cell disease. Traditional pain scales reduce this deeply personal experience to a single number that is often inaccurate.

13 Nov 2025

Revolutionizing blood diagnostics with real-time QPM technology

Blood tests are among the most common tools in medicine. Scientists are working to make blood cell imaging faster and more intuitive so that doctors can make fast and accurate diagnostic decisions.

24 Oct 2025

Using placental growth factor to predict preeclampsia risk in pregnant women with sickle cell disease

In pregnant women with sickle cell disease, the risk of developing early-onset preeclampsia can be determined by measuring levels of a protein associated with placental function and development.

21 Oct 2025

Research uncovers ASPL's critical role in stress granule life cycle

Stress granules are droplet-like protein hubs that temporarily shield fragile RNA from cellular stresses such as toxins. VCP is a protein essential for breaking up stress granules and has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases.

9 Oct 2025

Inappropriate triage prolongs time to pain medication in vaso-occlusive crisis

Most individuals living with sickle cell disease who presented to the emergency department with a pain crisis, known as vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC), were not triaged appropriately according to established national guidelines, reveals a study published today in Blood Advances.

8 Oct 2025

Active music therapy offers greater pain relief for hospital patients

A new study from University Hospitals Connor Whole Health found that music therapy interventions involving singing, active instrument play, and relaxation/imagery may be more effective for reducing pain intensity than receptive interventions only involving live or recorded music listening among hospitalized patients with moderate-to-severe pain.

25 Sep 2025

Gut microbial imbalance linked to chronic sickle cell disease pain

A research collaboration involving scientists and students at The University of Texas at Dallas has found a clear connection between chronic sickle cell disease pain and the bacteria present in the gastrointestinal tract.

22 Sep 2025

Timely opioid treatment lowers hospitalizations in children with sickle cell disease

A new study has found that prompt administration of opioid pain relief in emergency departments reduces the likelihood of hospitalization for children with sickle cell disease, according to findings published in JAMA Pediatrics.

18 Sep 2025

New method reveals how mitochondrial DNA mutations influence cancer growth

Mitochondria act as energy factories in cells and have their own, separate DNA. Mutations to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been observed in cancer, but it has been unclear how these changes might affect cancer growth.

10 Sep 2025

Dental care gaps affect children with sickle cell disease in Michigan

Children with sickle cell disease are more likely to have dental problems - but fewer than half of those covered by Michigan Medicaid got dental care in 2022, according to a new study.

3 Sep 2025

Abnormal fusion protein drives childhood brain tumor through condensate formation

A study looking at the biophysical properties of an abnormal protein driving cancer cells is giving scientists new therapeutic clues for how to treat ependymoma, the third most common childhood brain tumor.

27 Aug 2025

Gene editing therapy exa-cel improves quality of life in sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia

Treatment with exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel) led to robust and sustained improvements in quality of life for patients with severe sickle cell disease (SCD) or transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia, according to two studies published in Blood Advances.

27 Aug 2025

Sickle Cell Disease

Overview

Sickle Cell Disease Diagnosis

Sickle-Cell Disease Pathophysiology

Sickle-Cell Disease History

Feature Articles

Sickle-Cell Disease Genetics

What is Sickle Cell Trait (SCT)?

Sickle-Cell Disease Classification

Treatment Options for Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle-Cell Disease Treatment

COVID-19 and Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle Cell Disease Carriers

What is Sickle-Cell Disease?

Current Challenges in Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle-Cell Disease Symptoms

Latest Sickle Cell Disease News and Research

Circadian control of neutrophils limits heart damage after myocardial infarction

Mass General Brigham launches AI company to enhance clinical trial matching

Study finds no specific harms linked to hydroxyurea exposure during pregnancy

Challenges and opportunities in delivering gene therapies for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia

New evidence shows hematopoietic cell transplantation offers durable relief for sickle cell disease

Most sickle cell patients face long delays for recommended pain relief, study shows

Exa-cel shows complete success in early pediatric trials for sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia

Cellarity's AI model predicts drug-induced liver injury

Study reveals the effectiveness of Painimation in decoding pain for sickle cell patients

Revolutionizing blood diagnostics with real-time QPM technology

Using placental growth factor to predict preeclampsia risk in pregnant women with sickle cell disease

Research uncovers ASPL's critical role in stress granule life cycle

Inappropriate triage prolongs time to pain medication in vaso-occlusive crisis

Active music therapy offers greater pain relief for hospital patients

Gut microbial imbalance linked to chronic sickle cell disease pain

Timely opioid treatment lowers hospitalizations in children with sickle cell disease

New method reveals how mitochondrial DNA mutations influence cancer growth

Dental care gaps affect children with sickle cell disease in Michigan

Abnormal fusion protein drives childhood brain tumor through condensate formation

Gene editing therapy exa-cel improves quality of life in sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia

How GLP‑1 Agonists Are Shaping the Future of Obesity Treatment With Dr Bryony Henderson

Flow chemistry, AI, and NMR: A next-gen approach to scalable API production

Digital pathology and the PathoVerse: A conversation with Dr. Singh

Sickle Cell Disease

Overview

Feature Articles

Sickle-Cell Disease Genetics

What is Sickle Cell Trait (SCT)?

Sickle-Cell Disease Classification

Treatment Options for Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle-Cell Disease Treatment

COVID-19 and Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle Cell Disease Carriers

What is Sickle-Cell Disease?

Current Challenges in Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle-Cell Disease Symptoms

Latest Sickle Cell Disease News and Research

How GLP‑1 Agonists Are Shaping the Future of Obesity Treatment With Dr Bryony Henderson

Flow chemistry, AI, and NMR: A next-gen approach to scalable API production

Digital pathology and the PathoVerse: A conversation with Dr. Singh

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