Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a painful disease afflicting over 100,000 Americans. Patients often deal with painful periods of vaso-occlusion associated with stigma, racism, and other adverse social outcomes. SCD is the most commonly detected condition in newborn screening programs. Although it is often associated with Black individuals, it is still commonly detected in the...

People with sickle cell trait and sickle cell disease (SCD) experience faster rates of GFR decline than people with normal hemoglobin phenotypes. This study from the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology sought to understand how acute kidney injury (AKI) risk compares in individuals with sickle cell trait, SCD, and individuals with normal hemoglobin phenotypes....

TUESDAY, Feb. 23, 2021 — A clinical trial of a new gene therapy for sickle cell disease that has shown promise has been halted after two participants were diagnosed with cancer. Therapy developer Bluebird Bio said a patient who was treated five years ago developed myelodysplastic syndrome, while another developed acute myeloid leukemia, The New...

TUESDAY, Dec. 15, 2020 — Sickle cell disease increases the risk of death or serious complications from COVID-19 infection, a pair of new studies suggests. People with sickle cell disease — a genetic blood disorder predominantly found in Black people — are 6.2 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than the general Black population...

When St. Jude opened in 1962, Danny Thomas vowed the hospital would treat patients regardless of race, religion or ability to pay. Dr. Rudolph Jackson was one of the first black doctors at St. Jude. While he was finishing his training in Philadelphia, Dr. Rudolph Jackson fielded an offer to move 1,000 miles and begin...

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common hemoglobinopathy in the United States. It is associated with increased rates of postoperative complications, which are associated with higher costs and readmissions. This retrospective cohort study examines how SCD influences postoperative complications and readmissions after appendectomy, cholecystectomy, and hysterectomy. The researchers used data from 2007-2014 from California,...

Individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) utilize acute healthcare services at higher rates than the general population. Following the expansion of the Medicaid program in California, researchers sought to determine whether or not Medicaid enrollment and hydroxyurea prescriptions increased and if there was a decrease in the use of acute healthcare services by individuals with...

Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) frequently deal with health disparities, including inequities in funding, stigma, and worse health outcomes. This study was done to assess the quality of outpatient and emergency medical care available to adults and adolescents with SCD. The research was performed as part of the Sickle Cell Disease Implementation Consortium. The...

Researchers have observed that individuals dealing with sickle cell disease (SCD) experience psychological comorbidities and chronic pain. These conditions frequently correlate with substance abuse, but there has not been any substantive research into substance abuse rates among individuals dealing with SCD. This study, published in Substance Use & Misuse, explores the relationship and risk factors between...