2. What We Will Learn?
• What sickle cell anemia is.
• Who worked to understand sickle cell anemia.
• Who is affected by sickle cell anemia.
• What the symptoms of sickle cell anemia are.
• What the causes of sickle cell anemia are.
• What the effects of sickle cell anemia are.
• If there is a cure for sickle cell anemia.
4. SickleCell Anemia
• Sickle cell anemia is a genetic disorder of
the blood in which the red blood cells curve
into a sickle shape due to hemoglobin S.
• This shape change blocks them from going
through tiny blood vessels (capillaries) and
they clot your blood or break. If they break,
it leads to a insufficient amount of red blood
cells, or anemia.
6. William Warrick Cardozo
• Lived from 1905-1962
• In 1937 he concluded that the disease is
inherited and almost always occurs in
people of African descent.
• His works were published in the
Archives of Internal Medicine as
“Immunologic Studies in Sickle Cell
Anemia.”
7. Max F. Perutz
• He constructed a model of hemoglobin
that later helped prove how the
molecule’s structure changes when it
reacts with oxygen.
• His work helped explain why the
change in hemoglobin’s shape causes
the red blood cells to sickle and lessen
their oxygen-carrying capacity.
9. Carriersof SickleCell
Anemia
• Everybody can inherit the sickle cell
trait if both their parents have the trait.
• Hemoglobin S is particularly common
in African Americans, about 8 to 12%
have the trait.
• The trait is also common in people
from Mediterranean countries, the
Middle East and India.
10. Carriers(continued)
• Hemoglobin S is common in the
populations mentioned due to the fact
that carries of sickle cell anemia are
more likely to live through a case of
malaria.
• Because of this, more and more of
those populations are getting the sickle
cell anemia trait from their parents.
12. Symptomsof SickleCell
Anemia
• Symptoms may appear as early as 6
months of age.
• Early symptoms include serious
infections, pain and swelling of the
hands and feet, and enlargement of
the abdomen and heart.
14. Causesof SickleCell Anemia
• Sickle cell anemia is caused by the
hemoglobin S gene.
• Both parents must have the trait for there to
be a chance of their child getting sickle cell
anemia.
• If you have one hemoglobin S, and one
hemoglobin A (hemoglobin AS) you will
NOT get sickle cell anemia, because it is a
recessive trait.
15. Causes(continued)
• If and when you get sickle cell anemia,
the hemoglobin S gene causes the red
blood cell to sickle when it gets rid of a
large amount of oxygen.
• The hemoglobin S causes long, rigid
rods to form in the red blood cell when
it gives away oxygen. That is why the
cell sickles.
17. Effectsof SickleCell Anemia
• There are 13 main effects of sickle cell
anemia. They are:
– Pain episodes
– Insufficient amounts of red blood cells
(anemia)
– Strokes
– Increased infections
– Leg ulcers
– Bone damage
18. Effects(continued)
– Yellow eyes or yellowish skin
– Early gallstones
– Lung blockage
– Kidney damage
– Blood blockage in the spleen or liver
– Eye damage
– Delayed growth
20. Treatment for SickleCell
Anemia
• There is no definite cure for sickle cell anemia,
but you can get it treated.
• All treatment of sickle cell anemia is geared
toward preventing infection, reducing organ
damage, and minimizing all pain or
discomfort.
• If you are diagnosed early, some of the effects
like severe infections, can be prevented with
antibiotics and vaccinations.
21. Treatment (continued)
• Daily treatment with the cancer drug
hydroxyurea has been proven to reduce the
number of pain episodes and the severity of
the anemia.
• Regular blood transfusions help restore the
number of red blood cells, and make it less
likely that you will have a stroke.
22. Treatment (continued)
• The only proven cure worked on but a
handful of small children.
• These children were able to find an
acceptable bone marrow donor.
• This new bone marrow was able to
produce new red blood cells that didn’t
carry the sickle cell anemia trait.
