Researchers at Rice University in Texas have been awarded $2.6 million to further investigate questions surrounding the safety and efficacy of gene editing as a potentially curative treatment for sickle cell disease (SCD). The four-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was awarded to Gang Bao, PhD,…
Sickle Cell 101 is teaming up this summer with Cleveland Browns player Donovan Peoples-Jones — known to fans as DPJ — and his Limitless Foundation Football Camp to raise awareness about sickle cell trait and hydration, both key issues for people living with disorders like sickle cell disease…
The Oman Ministry of Health has approved Endari (oral L-glutamine) for children, ages 5 and older, and adults with sickle cell disease (SCD), its developer Emmaus Life Sciences has announced. The disease affects around 3,000 people in Oman, with about 6% of the population estimated to carry…
The fourth annual Cheek Week, an effort to include more blood stem cell donors in the Be The Match Registry will be featured as part of July’s African American Bone Marrow Awareness Month. The registry seeks to identify people who might be candidates to donate blood stem cells, which…
For nearly half of people with sickle cell disease who took part in the Phase 2 part of a clinical trial called RISE UP, treatment with the oral medication mitapivat brought about a significant increase in levels of hemoglobin — the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells — new…
The Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) and the MedicAlert Foundation are partnering on a pilot program to help those living with sickle cell disease (SCD) receive faster and better emergency care. With the aim of improving the safety and well-being of patients during acute pain…
A digital portrait created by artist Nikkolas Smith for the American Red Cross seeks to heighten awareness of sickle cell disease (SCD) and the ongoing need for blood donations for SCD patients, particularly from Black donors. The artwork, titled “Transfusion,” depicts a young African American person crossing their hands,…
The global burden of sickle cell disease (SCD) may be greater than previously thought, with mortality rates up to 11 times higher than earlier estimates, a recent analysis reported. Particularly vulnerable are people living in sub-Saharan Africa and children younger than age 5. Failures to properly diagnose sickle cell…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to decide before year’s end on whether or not to approve the experimental gene therapy lovotibeglogene autotemcel — known as lovo-cel — for people with sickle cell disease (SCD) who have a history of painful vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs). The…
Children’s of Alabama hosted a special event, in collaboration with famed football coach Nick Saban, to deliver a flock of social robot ducks — the My Special Aflac Duck, free to certain pediatric patients — to 18 children in the state with sickle cell disease (SCD) and cancer.
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