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Sickle cell trait, a form of sickle cell caused by one (rather than two) faulty alleles, has long been thought to raise a person’s risk of premature death from muscles breaking down under exertion, straining the kidneys. But a new study contradicts this assumption, finding no elevated risk of mortality…

Iron overload, a major concern in patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA), can lead to serious tissue damage in the skin and other important organs. Researchers at Mersin University investigated the clinical effectiveness of iron chelation therapy and its effect on the quality of life and satisfaction of SCA patients,…

Sickle cell anemia, although best characterized by chronic anemia, pain, and vascular  occlusion, is also associated with strokes and cognitive problems in children, and magnetic resonance imaging is key to proper monitoring and managing of the disease, researchers in China reported. Researchers at the Xuzhou Children’s Hospital highlighted the neurological complications of…

Gamida Cell has announced that the first patient with sickle cell disease (SCD) has been transplanted with CordIn, the company’s experimental curative treatment for rare and chronic nonmalignant diseases with no other curative therapy options besides bone marrow transplant. The transplant, performed at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, is part…

A comprehensive review of management approaches for childhood sickle cell disease (SCD), focused on neonatal screening implementation, common complications, and current standard treatment, drew a primary conclusion that improvements in the care of patients transitioning from pediatric to adult patients is needed to reduce young adult mortality and hospital costs. The review article, titled…

Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is associated with lifelong complications and a high mortality rate in developing countries. Researchers have now developed a low-cost paper-based diagnostic test that allows clinicians to diagnose SCA earlier, significantly reducing the burden of the disease sickle cell anemia in resource-limited areas. The research paper, “Validation…

The American Society of Hematology (ASH), concerned with the causes and treatment of blood diseases, has formally established the ASH Bridge Grant program, an annual commitment of $3 million in research awards to support promising projects, including the study of sickle cell anemia. The formal establishment of the program…

In a discovery that appears to turn textbook knowledge on its head, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School found that damaged or old red blood cells — and the iron they carry — are in fact mainly taken care of by the liver and not, as previously…

Women with sickle cell disease have a high risk of complications during pregnancy, according to new research from French Guiana. The findings also show that women with the more severe SS-type sickle cell disease are more likely to have premature babies, and to suffer health problems themselves, than women with…

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…