Sickle Cell Disease
The Mental Toll of Sickle Cell Disease for Black Women
Black women are the least likely population to report their mental health status as very good, or excellent. Studies have shown that Black patients metabolize medications more slowly than Caucasians, and as a result often require higher doses of psychiatric prescriptions. Researchers sought answers to understand why Black women are most susceptible to mental health...
Prevalence of Racism Against African American Youth with Sickle Cell
Sickle Cell disease is a blood inherited disease that gravely affects patient quality of life and life expectancy. Due to America’s history and long-standing system of racial injustice, sickle cell patients are often mistreated, neglected, and healthcare is unattainable. Social attitudes and racism towards youth with sickle cell disease further exacerbate these issues. A study...
A Racial Matter: Sickle Cell Patients Denied Healthcare Funding
2 million patients in the United States carry the genetic mutation for sickle cell disease. This accounts for 100,000 patients. Advancements in medicine and treatment for sickle cell disease has improved patient quality of life significantly. More than 90% of sickle cell patients survive into adulthood. However, due to a lack of affordable, quality medical...
The Effects of Systemic Racism on Black Sickle Cell Patients
Complications from sickle cell disease significantly reduce patient life expectancy to 38 years for men, and 42 years for women. Sickle cell disease is prevalent in patients with sub-African ancestry. Genetic engineering and biologic research has paved the way for potentially curing therapies and supportive medications. However, inequalities in the United States healthcare system present...
Sickle Cell: Geographic Location or Race to Blame for Vasculopathy
Vasculopathy is a common complication that results in chronic end organ damage for patients with sickle cell. Leg ulcers have been reported in 5-10% of adult sickle cell patients. A lack of information existed about geographic distribution of patients with reported leg ulcers. A need for an analysis was necessary to determine how geographic location...
Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Did Not Cause Patient's Leukemia
THURSDAY, March 11, 2021 (HealthDay News) — There is no evidence that a promising gene therapy for sickle cell disease triggered leukemia in a patient, according to the company testing the experimental treatment. Bluebird Bio announced a few weeks ago that a sickle cell patient treated with the gene therapy five years ago in a...
Transplant Beneficial for Kidney Failure in Sickle Cell
FRIDAY, Feb. 26, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Patients with kidney failure who receive a kidney transplant, including those with sickle cell disease, have lower mortality, according to a study published online Feb. 25 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Sunjae Bae, K.M.D., M.P.H., from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in...
Trial of Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease Halted
TUESDAY, Feb. 23, 2021 (HealthDay News) — 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,...
ASH: CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing Promising in TDT, SCD
THURSDAY, Dec. 10, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Use of the ex vivo CRISPR-Cas9-based gene-editing platform to edit the erythroid enhancer region of BCL11A in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, producing CTX001, results in increased hemoglobin (Hb) among patients with transfusion-dependent ß-thalassemia (TDT) and sickle cell disease (SCD), according to a study published online Dec. 5...
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