Patricia Inácio, PhD, science writer —

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…

Sickle cell disease (SCD) patients may have a more rapid decline in kidney function, indicated by a marked decrease or increase in the kidney’s filtering capacity, according to recent research. The study, titled “9 Factors Related to the Progression of Sickle Cell Disease Nephropathy,” was presented at the American Society of…

In an analysis of adults with sickle cell disease, researchers found evidence that transfusions with stored units of older blood were associated with higher rates of hospital admission due to infections. The study, “Older red cell units are associated with an increased incidence of infection in chronically transfused adults…

High levels of the protein albumin, a condition known as albuminuria and highly prevalent in sickle cell disease (SCD) patients, has now been linked to dysfunctions in cells that line the blood vessels (known as endothelial cells) in SCD patients. The study, “Albuminuria Is Associated with Endothelial Dysfunction and Elevated…

An evolutionary force, called balancing selection, appears to be responsible for maintaining defects in our DNA associated with diseases, such as sickle cell anemia, because the mutation’s damaging effects might be offset — in a biological way of thinking — by its potential benefits. The study, “Excess of deleterious mutations…

Researchers investigated renal papillary necrosis (RPN), a chronic complication of sickle cell anemia, and found low incidence in South-Eastern Nigerian sickle cell anemia patient cohort, but higher association rates with female patients. The study, “Prevalence and associations of symptomatic renal papillary necrosis in sickle cell anemia patients in South-Eastern Nigeria,” was…

A novel nontoxic transplantation method using antibodies proves safe and effective in treating blood diseases, including sickle cell anemia, according to new research. The study, “Non-genotoxic conditioning for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation using a hematopoietic-cell-specific internalizing immunotoxin,” was published in the journal Nature Biotechnology. Patients with blood disorders,…