Sickle Cell Anemia
What is it?
Sickle Cell Anemia is a genetic disease passed down from one or both parents. The gene can either be dormant, meaning the person does not experience any of the effects, or it can be full blown, meaning the person suffers from the symptoms of the disease. In someone who does not have this disease, their red blood cells are round and flexible, but in someone with this disease, the red blood cells form a crescent mood shape, which is sticky and rigid. This is bad because if the red blood cell is not flexible, it gets stuck in veins and arteries, causing serious pain; it is also bad because if the cell is smaller, it is not carrying enough oxygen to the body, also causing severe pain.
Symptoms
Some symptoms include:
Anemia - the red blood cells in an effected person's blood will break apart and die much faster than a normal blood cell. A normal red blood cell lasts about 120 days, a sickle cell last about 10-20 days, causing the blood to not have enough red blood cells, which is anemia.
Crises- these are episodes of severe pain, usually in the abdomen or joints. This happens when the rigid, sticky sickle cells bunch together causing blockage in a blood vessel.
Frequent Infections
Delayed Growth
Vision Problems
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Treatments
Bone Marrow Transplants, or stem cell transplant, is the only treatment to provide long term "relief" of Sickle Cell symptoms, but is not technically a cure. This treatment is usually only done on younger patients, because the risks increase with age. Also, finding a matched donor can be complicated and time consuming.
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Medications are usually used as treatments, including:
Antibiotics
Pain-relievers
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Other treatments include:
Assessing stroke risk
Vaccinations
Blood transfusions
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