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

Latest Sickle Cell Disease News and Research

Study may provide the basis for better diagnostic, therapeutic approaches to blood diseases

The hemoglobin in the red blood cells ensures that our body cells receive sufficient oxygen. When the blood pigment is broken down, "heme" is produced, which in turn can influence the protein cocktail in the blood.

5 Sep 2020

Majority of U.S. COVID-19 fatalities had underlying medical conditions

Early on in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, there was little data on the virus and how it affects the body. As the virus spread across the globe, data showed that some people were at a higher risk of developing severe disease and dying from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

31 Aug 2020

New York Blood Center receives $15.6 million NIH grant for sickle cell transfusion research

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year grant of $15.6 million to Karina Yazdanbakhsh, PhD, of New York Blood Center’s Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, to lead a collaborative research program studying the consequences of transfusions in patients with sickle cell disease and developing strategies to optimize transfusion management for this patient group.

21 Aug 2020

New research project receives federal funding to expand treatment options for sickle cell patients

A new research project that could impact and expand the discovery of new treatment options for sickle cell patients has received significant federal funding.

5 Aug 2020

Cannabis could be a potentially effective treatment for sickle cell disease pain

Cannabis appears to be a safe and potentially effective treatment for the chronic pain that afflicts people with sickle cell disease, according to a new clinical trial co-led by University of California, Irvine researcher Kalpna Gupta and Dr. Donald Abrams of UC San Francisco. The findings appear in JAMA Network Open.

17 Jul 2020

PCORI approves up to $50 million in funding for new projects to address COVID-19

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Board of Governors today, building on its rapid response to the COVID-19 health crisis, approved allocating up to $50 million in additional funding for new projects in PCORI's COVID-19 funding opportunities, as well as enhancements to existing PCORI-funded studies.

23 Jun 2020

Globally, 350 million could be at risk of severe COVID-19 and hospitalization

Now, a new study shows that one in five individuals is at risk of getting a severe case of COVID-19 due to the presence of underlying disease. The study appeared in the latest issue of The Lancet Global Health this week.

17 Jun 2020

Study provides genetic explanation behind the sex bias observed in certain diseases

Some diseases exhibit a clear sex bias, occurring more often, hitting harder or eliciting different symptoms in men or women.

12 May 2020

Higher prevalence of anxiety disorders in youth with chronic medical conditions

Youth who report one of the seven chronic medical conditions (CMCs), including asthma, congenital heart disease, diabetes, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and sickle cell disease, are often diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.

4 May 2020

Rice University wins prestigious grant to develop new therapies for sickle cell disease

A Rice University lab has won a prestigious National Institutes of Health grant to pursue gene-editing research it hopes will lead to a cure for sickle cell disease (SCD).

25 Apr 2020

Exploring mechanisms of resistance to HIV in people with sickle cell disease

Analysis supports reports that sickle cell disease causes lower HIV infection rate, but cell studies did not reveal a mechanism.

8 Apr 2020

Study underscores the need for more precise rare disease definitions

Some diseases are like black swans. They occur so rarely that many physicians never encounter them in their clinical practice, complicating efforts to treat them.

5 Feb 2020

Certain enzymes implicated in diseases like cancer also destroy each other

Like motley bandits, certain enzymes implicated in cancer and other diseases also annihilate each other. A new study reveals details of their mutual foils in the hopes that these behaviors can be leveraged to fight the enzymes' disease potential.

20 Jan 2020

Enzymes that cannibalize each other and promote cancer

A new study to be published this week in the journal The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the week of January 20, 2020. shows that certain human enzymes play dual roles in health and disease. Not only do they promote the occurrence of cancer and some other illnesses, they also eliminate one another rather like cannibals. The researchers hope this behaviour can be exploited to prevent these enzymes from causing human disease.

20 Jan 2020

Effort to control opioids in an ER leaves some sickle cell patients in pain

India Hardy has lived with pain since she was a toddler — ranging from dull persistent aches to acute flare-ups that interrupt the flow of her normal life.

6 Jan 2020

Fresh red blood cell transfusions are no more beneficial than older ones to critically ill children

A new study led by the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre and the University of Montreal, along with the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has found that transfusions using fresh red blood cells--cells that have spent seven days or less in storage--are no more beneficial than older red blood cells in reducing the risk of organ failure or death in critically ill children.

10 Dec 2019

Identifying the type of pain in adults with sickle cell disease may help improve treatment

Identifying the type of pain an adult with sickle cell disease experiences may be useful in improving treatment, according to a new study by researchers at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital.

8 Dec 2019

New tool can rapidly reveal unintended changes made by CRISPR-directed gene editing

Amidst rising hopes for using CRISPR gene editing tools to repair deadly mutations linked to conditions like cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease, a new study in the Nature journal Communications Biology describes a new innovation that could accelerate this work by rapidly revealing unintended and potentially harmful changes introduced by a gene editing process.

6 Dec 2019

Prenatal screening for hemoglobinopathies different in OBGYN practices and family medicine

Sickle cell disease is one of the most common inherited red blood cell disorders, yet many are not aware of their carrier status (Treadwell, J Nat Med Assoc, 2006), which can lead to confusion around pregnancy and newborn diagnosis.

5 Dec 2019

Pharma’s take on the Pelosi drug-pricing bill: Fair warning or fearmongering?

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's flagship proposal to curb prescription drug prices, the "Lower Drug Costs Now Act" - H.R. 3 - could come up for a vote in the chamber this month.

5 Dec 2019

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

Latest Sickle Cell Disease News and Research

Study may provide the basis for better diagnostic, therapeutic approaches to blood diseases

Majority of U.S. COVID-19 fatalities had underlying medical conditions

New York Blood Center receives $15.6 million NIH grant for sickle cell transfusion research

New research project receives federal funding to expand treatment options for sickle cell patients

Cannabis could be a potentially effective treatment for sickle cell disease pain

PCORI approves up to $50 million in funding for new projects to address COVID-19

Globally, 350 million could be at risk of severe COVID-19 and hospitalization

Study provides genetic explanation behind the sex bias observed in certain diseases

Higher prevalence of anxiety disorders in youth with chronic medical conditions

Rice University wins prestigious grant to develop new therapies for sickle cell disease

Exploring mechanisms of resistance to HIV in people with sickle cell disease

Study underscores the need for more precise rare disease definitions

Certain enzymes implicated in diseases like cancer also destroy each other

Enzymes that cannibalize each other and promote cancer

Effort to control opioids in an ER leaves some sickle cell patients in pain

Fresh red blood cell transfusions are no more beneficial than older ones to critically ill children

Identifying the type of pain in adults with sickle cell disease may help improve treatment

New tool can rapidly reveal unintended changes made by CRISPR-directed gene editing

Prenatal screening for hemoglobinopathies different in OBGYN practices and family medicine

Pharma’s take on the Pelosi drug-pricing bill: Fair warning or fearmongering?

Discovering a molecule that could replicate SARS-CoV-2

Providing Personalized Care for Bleeding Disorders

Delayed immune responses may be responsible for COVID-19 mortality rates

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

Latest Sickle Cell Disease News and Research

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