Alice Melão,  —

Researchers have found that patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) have increased risk of developing leukemia, but lower risk for breast cancer or male genital cancers. These findings resulted from a population-based study titled “Increased risk of leukemia among sickle cell disease patients in California” that was published in…

Researchers at Brown University have developed computer models that recreate what happens with hemoglobin molecules inside red blood cells  affected by sickle cell disease. Their study, “Mesoscopic Adaptive Resolution Scheme toward Understanding of Interactions between Sickle Cell Fibers,” appeared in the Biophysical Journal. It describes a virtual model authors hope…

Introducing a “natural” genetic mutation into the blood cells of people with sickle cell and like diseases, using CRISPR  gene editing, was seen to restore the production of fetal hemoglobin and offer a way to treat these disorders, researchers report. Their study was published in the journal Blood, in an article titled “KLF1 drives the expression…

Doctors treating pediatric patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) for pain associated with a vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) often have few optimal therapy options. But a recent study reviewed a technique that shows potential for mitigating pain in child SCD patients who are experiencing VOC.

Patients with sickle cell anemia who do not have alpha-thalassemia and the genetic rs1427407 T variant of the BCL11A gene may be at higher risk for hemolysis (rupture of red blood cells) and stroke, according to the results of studies of three independent groups. These findings were featured in…

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has granted GBT440 — Global Blood Therapeutics’ lead drug candidate for sickle cell disease (SCD) — access to its Priority Medicines (PRIME) program. GBT440 is an oral, once-daily drug being developed to specifically inhibit hemoglobin polymerization and the consequent sickling of red blood cells, the hallmark…

Moderate exercise training can improve many features of sickle cell disease (SCD) in experimental mice models, including inflammation, lack of oxygen in the blood and spleen enlargement, according to a French study. The report, “Moderate exercise training decreases inflammation in transgenic sickle cell mice,” appeared in the scientific journal Blood…

Several psychological factors such as depression, anxiety, and catastrophizing (believing something is worse than it is) can influence the perception and experience of pain in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease, according to a study published in The Journal of Pain.

According to a study published in the American Journal of Hematology, the presence of a multidisciplinary clinical team can dramatically reduce maternal and perinatal mortality rates in pregnant women with sickle cell disease (SCD), especially in under-developed and low-income countries. In recent decades, medical advances have significantly improved the survival of those…

GlycoMimetics, in collaboration with Pfizer, is now enrolling participants for a Phase 3 clinical trial to test the effectiveness and safety of the drug candidate rivipansel (GMI-1070) for the treatment of vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) in hospitalized patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). “We can report that the Phase…