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

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

Ovarian reserve unchanged by hydroxyurea in sickle cell disease, study reveals

In female patients living with sickle cell disease (SCD), hydroxyurea had no effect on ovarian reserve, suggesting that fertility preservation measures prior to treatment may be unnecessary, according to a study published in Blood Advances.

18 Jul 2024

Swift transfer from pediatric to adult care may reduce the use of acute care services in sickle cell disease

Sickle cell disease is the most common inherited red blood cell disorder in the United States and can lead to health problems including organ dysfunction, acute chest syndrome and strokes over a patient's lifespan.

16 Jul 2024

UCLA study finds insomnia drug suvorexant prevents opioid addiction in mice

New research led by UCLA Health has found a drug that treats insomnia works to prevent the addictive effects of the morphine opioids in mice while still providing effective pain relief.

9 Jul 2024

Understanding patient distress in sickle cell disease

While distress is well-documented in patients with sickle cell disease, sources of distress and how patients manage distress have not been well explored.

9 Jul 2024

Decoding the viscoelastic properties of biomolecular condensates

Biomolecular condensates are membraneless hubs of condensed proteins and nucleic acids within cells, which researchers are realizing are tied to an increasing number of cellular processes and diseases.

2 Jul 2024

New curative treatment for sickle cell disease shows promising results in international trial

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) researchers are touting data from a multicenter, international phase 2 clinical trial showing a new, curative treatment for sickle cell disease (SCD).

25 Jun 2024

Promising gene editing therapy shows hope in sickle cell disease cure

Researchers have presented the latest findings from a clinical trial aimed at discovering a cure for sickle cell disease, a painful genetic blood disorder with limited treatment options.

14 Jun 2024

St. Jude researchers uncover NLRC5's role in immune response and cell death

The innate immune system is responsible for protecting the human body from threats that could cause disease or infection.

14 Jun 2024

How tight binding between immune cells dictates T cell cancer-fighting ability

Immunotherapy, treatments that reinvigorate immune cells' anti-cancer activity or reprogram T cells to target cancer, has shown promise in treating leukemias but has not yet been realized in solid tumors.

30 May 2024

Timely transition from pediatric to adult care reduces hospitalizations for sickle cell patients

Individuals living with sickle cell disease (SCD) who experience a delay of more than six months in transitioning from pediatric to adult care are twice as likely to be hospitalized compared to those who transition in less than two months, according to a study published in Blood Advances.

29 May 2024

Study finds rise in hospitalizations for ischemic priapism

Researchers analyzed nationwide data from Germany to evaluate trends and outcomes in hospitalized cases of high- and low-flow priapism, finding increased hospitalizations for ischemic priapism and reduced cases linked to sickle cell disease.

26 May 2024

Comprehensive cost and utilization of commercial CAR-T therapy in pediatric B-ALL patients

A new editorial paper was published in Oncoscience (Volume 11) on April 25, 2024, entitled, "The price of hope: CAR-T therapy in pediatric leukemia."

17 May 2024

Sensing a Healthier Future with Sustainable Nanomaterials and Biosensors

In this interview conducted at Pittcon 2024 in San Diego, we spoke to this year's Keynote Speaker Professor Omowunmi (Wunmi) Sadik about how sustainable nanomaterials are transforming human health.

From Pittcon 16 May 2024

St. Jude researchers unveil mechanisms to block PXR and enhance drug potency

Deaths from cancer or infections can occur when available treatments are ineffective. Once turned on, pregnane X receptor (PXR) activates the expression of genes encoding enzymes that metabolize external chemicals, including drugs.

14 May 2024

CASGEVY gene therapy eliminates vaso-occlusive crises in sickle cell patients

In a landmark study, an international consortium led by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) published the final results of a key clinical trial of the gene therapy CASGEVY (exagamglogene autotemcel) for the treatment of sickle cell disease in patients 12 years and older with recurrent vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs).

24 Apr 2024

Genetic insights into type 2 diabetes risk in childhood cancer survivors

Survivors of childhood cancer are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, for which a risk factor is their greater prevalence of type 2 diabetes, with a disproportionate impact on those of non-European heritage.

23 Apr 2024

Metabolic health determines effectiveness of influenza vaccination

Metabolic health (normal blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels, among other factors) influences the effectiveness of influenza vaccinations. Vaccination is known to be less effective in people with obesity compared to those with a healthier body mass index (BMI), but St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have found it is not obesity itself, but instead metabolic dysfunction, which makes the difference.

18 Apr 2024

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