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

Benefits of less intensive stem cell transplants for sickle cell disease

So-called low-intensity blood stem cell transplants, which use milder conditioning agents than standard stem cell transplants, do not appear to damage the lungs and may help improve lung function in some patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), according to a three-year study of adults who underwent the procedure at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

28 Aug 2024

Study reveals a paradigm shift in the understanding of T-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (St. Jude) and the Children's Oncology Group (COG) today announced a significant paradigm shift in the understanding of T-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), an aggressive and high-risk form of cancer, to one frequently driven by genetic changes in non-coding portions of our DNA.

14 Aug 2024

Study uncovers OLAH as key driver of fatal respiratory disease

Respiratory infections can be severe, even deadly, in some individuals, but not in others.

12 Aug 2024

New genomic predictors of relapse in childhood B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia uncovered

Scientists from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Seattle Children's and the Children's Oncology Group (COG) have identified novel genetic variations that influence relapse risk in children with standard risk B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (SR B-ALL), the most common childhood cancer.

12 Aug 2024

SARS-CoV-2 protein linked to onset of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have identified a link between a SARS-CoV-2 protein and the onset of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).

7 Aug 2024

Understanding the age gap in leukemia survival rates

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) affects both children and adults, but children have better chances to be cured, with long-term survival rates over 85% compared to 50-75% in adults. Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital conducted a comprehensive study to understand the biological causes driving this difference. The work, published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, provides a blueprint for understanding B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), the most common form of the disease.

7 Aug 2024

Study advances understanding of complex neurological disorder

To effectively treat a disease or disorder, doctors must first know the root cause. Such is the case for developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs), whose root causes can be hugely complex and heterogeneous. Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital demonstrated the value of DNA methylation patterns for identifying the root cause of DEEs, showing specific gene methylation and genome-wide methylation "episignatures" can help identify the genes that cause DEE. The findings were published today in Nature Communications.

7 Aug 2024

Enhanced CAR T-cell homing boosts treatment efficacy for osteosarcoma

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T–cell immunotherapy re-engineers a patient's immune cells to target cancer cells.

5 Aug 2024

St. Jude develops cost-effective genetic panel for pediatric cancer diagnosis

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have created a panel that is able to provide a diagnosis for >90% of pediatric cancer patients by sequencing 0.15% of the human genome.

1 Aug 2024

Study reveals serotonin's role in ependymoma tumor growth

Do neurons play a role in brain tumor growth and development? Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine have evidence showing that, for childhood ependymomas, they do.

31 Jul 2024

Study: Iron infusions superior to blood transfusions for surgical patients with anemia

In a rigorous medical records study covering tens of thousands of patients, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers conclude that some patients with preoperative anemia have better outcomes if they get iron infusions before surgery rather than standard red blood cell transfusions.

25 Jul 2024