Sickle Cell Disease

SILVER SPRING, MD – The National Medical Association (NMA) is hosting its 121st Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly, themed “Accelerating the March Toward Health Equity,” July 29 – August 2, 2023, in the culturally rich city of New Orleans, LA, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. This annual conference is acclaimed as the nation’s foremost forum on medical science and African...

Improved therapies allow patients with sickle cell disease to live longer, but there is a paucity of research on specific treatment recommendations in older adults and older adults are often underrepresented in clinical trials. Older adults are underrepresented in sickle cell disease clinical trials. Disease management in older adults must focus on interactions between SCD...

Vaso-occlusive events in sickle cell disease are managed with opioids, but there are several side effects. Ketamine is proposed as an adjunctive therapy that may reduce the need for high-dose opioids. Sickle cell disease causes vaso-occlusive pain episodes, typically managed with opioids and NSAIDs Ketamine might be an effective therapy to add to VOE management...

The transition from pediatric to adult treatment programs poses a challenge in the management of sickle cell disease. Developing transition programs with better knowledge of the factors that lead to transition success will be vital to improving patient outcomes.   Patients with sickle cell disease require lifelong treatment Transitioning from pediatric to adult care is a...

Children with sickle cell disease have a poorer quality of life compared to their peers and tend to miss more school because of pain and hospitalizations. As a result, their treatment should be focused on improving quality of life.  Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic blood disorder characterized by the sickled shape of red...

People with sickle cell disease (SCD) are more likely to have cholesterol and lipid imbalances, which can increase the risk of serious SCD complications. A recent study found new biomarkers associated with SCD in a cohort of pediatric patients. Sickle cell disease (SCD) commonly occurs in tandem with dyslipidemia. Dyslipidemia increases a patient’s risk for...

Social determinants of health continue to lead to health disparities in patients with sickle cell disease. Socioeconomic status, neighborhood and community culture, and healthcare access all impact health outcomes, but clinicians can leverage this knowledge to make informed decisions with their patients. Social determinants of health (SDoH) are the environmental factors affecting a person’s wellbeing....

Sickle cell disease requires constant symptom management. Current treatments attempt to mitigate symptoms, but new genetic approaches introduce a potential to cure the disease at its source. Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited disorder caused by a single point mutation in the hemoglobin beta gene resulting in sickle-shaped red blood cells that fail to...

Given the vulnerable populations affected by sickle cell disease (SCD), patients benefit from comprehensive, multidisciplinary care teams. This review found financial advantages to comprehensive care by reducing the costs associated with acute visits, such as hospitalizations. Despite advances in therapies for sickle cell disease (SCD), economic challenges still prevent health care providers from adopting comprehensive,...