Patricia Inácio, PhD, science writer —

Patients with sickle cell disease show the highest rates of readmission and hospitalization within 30 days of being discharged from an emergency department, a single-center study found. The study, “Patients Discharged From the Emergency Department After Referral for Hospitalist Admission,” was published in The American Journal of Managed…

Imara, a pharmaceutical company developing new therapies for sickle cell disease (SCD), has successfully dosed the first patient enrolled in its clinical trial evaluating escalating doses of IMR-687 in adult patients with SCD. The Phase 2 trial (NCT03401112) is currently recruiting participants and expects to enroll…

Hypersensitivity to allergens in children with sickle cell anemia may increase the risk of acute chest syndrome, a study suggests. The study “Aeroallergen sensitization predicts acute chest syndrome in children with sickle cell anaemia” was published in the British Journal of Haematology. Diagnosing asthma in children with sickle cell…

Bluebird bio announced encouraging interim results from the ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial testing its investigational gene therapy LentiGlobin for patients with severe sickle cell disease (SCD). The results were presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), held Dec. 9-12 in Atlanta,…

Following a review of studies published in the last decade, experts have updated their recommendations for managing a sickle cell disease-related eye complication known as sickle cell retinopathy (SCR). Their paper, “Sickle cell retinopathy: improving care with a multidisciplinary approach,” appeared in the Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare. SCR, a…

Sancilio Pharmaceuticals says its investigational therapy Altemia (SC411) achieved primary and secondary endpoints in a clinical trial with sickle cell patients 5 to 17 years old. Altemia is a combination of specific lipids designed to restore balance to the membrane of red blood cells that are damaged in sickle…

The new Stanford Center for Definitive and Curative Medicine will foster the development of stem cell and gene therapies for genetic diseases, including sickle cell anemia. More than 280 million people around the world have diseases with genetic causes, experts estimate. While research has identified the underlying causes of several, scientists have developed…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Imbruvica (ibrutinib) for treatment of adult patients with chronic graft-versus-host-disease (cGVHD) who failed to respond to other forms of systemic therapy, AbbVie announced. FDA’s decision means Imbruvica is the first and only therapy specifically approved for adults with cGVHD, a serious outcome that…

Patients who suffered a stroke and have sickle cell disease (SCD) can safely receive lytic therapy with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), according to new research. The study, “Coexistent Sickle Cell Disease Has No Impact on the Safety or Outcome of Lytic Therapy in Acute Ischemic Stroke,” was published in…

Dietary intake of gum arabic (GA), a water-soluble, natural gum obtained from the acacia tree, seems to improve anti-oxidant defense in patients with sickle cell anemia, according to the results of a Phase II clinical trial. The study “Gum Arabic as novel anti-oxidant agent in sickle cell anemia, phase…