News

Total Immature Red Blood Cell Count May Be Significant in Sickle Cell Anemia and Important Therapeutic Target

Researchers investigated how the levels of reticulocytosis, the increase of circulating immature red blood cells, correlated with increased hospitalizations and cerebrovascular pathologies in pediatric patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA) receiving chronic transfusion therapy (CTT). According to the findings, in this group of children with SCA, cerebrovascular pathology at initiation…

Renal Papillary Necrosis in Sickle Cell Patients Studied in Nigeria

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…

New Mouse Study Suggests Bone Marrow Transplants Safer, More Effective with Antibody-based Treatment

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,…

Catastrophizing Pain by Parents of Sickle Cell Youth Linked to Lowered Quality of Life

Researchers at the Emory University School of Medicine examined the effects of protective parenting and parent catastrophizing in the quality of life and functional disability of adolescents dealing with  chronic pain associated with sickle cell anemia. Catastophizing refers to over protective parenting that sometimes inteferes with a maturing child’s social, developmental and…