Sickle cell anemia is a blood disorder where red blood cells become stiff and form a crescent shape. It is inherited from parents, with risks of having the disease depending on if parents have the trait or full disease. Symptoms include pain, fatigue, infections, and organ damage. Treatments focus on pain management, antibiotics, and blood transfusions. It most commonly affects those with ancestry from regions where malaria is common.

1. SICKLE CELL ANEMIA By: Yasmin Korra, Ariana Dominquez, and Britney Bernard

2. WHAT IS IT? Sickle Cell Anemia is a blood disorder where red blood cells are C shaped. Abnormal forms of hemoglobin ( which are oxygen carrying proteins) in red blood cells are what cause them to have a sickle or crescent like shape.

3. Terms You Need Know Anemia: decrease in number of red blood cells and hemoglobin in the blood. Hemoglobin: chemical substance of the red blood cells that carry oxygen to the tissues. Emia: Blood

4. SICKLE CELL TRAITS Inheritance Sickle cell conditions are inherited form parents just like the way blood type, hair color and texture, eye color and other physical traits are inherited. The types of hemoglobin a person makes in the red blood cells. Like most genes, hemoglobin genes are inherited in two sets….one from each parent.

5. SICKLE CELL INHERITANCE Sickle Cell is a disease optained by genes. A person is born with sickle cell disease and can not be cured. If one parent has Sickle Cell Anemia and the other is Normal, all of the children will have sickle cell trait. If one parent has Sickle Cell Anemia and the other has Sickle Cell Trait, there is a 50% chance (or 1 out of 2) of having a baby with either sickle cell disease or sickle cell trait with each pregnancy. When both parents have Sickle Cell Trait, they have a 25% chance (1 of 4) of having a baby with sickle cell disease with each pregnancy.

6. WHY IS THIS HARMFUL? Sickle Cell Anemia makes the cells very fragile and they don’t survive for a long period of time, or as long as normal cells do. Sickle cell also makes the cells inflexible which make them more able to block small blood vessels. Sickle cell disease is inherited, but symptoms only occur after four months of age.

7. MEDICAL PROBLEMS Sickle cells are destroyed in the body of people with the disease that causes anemia, jaundice and the formation of gallstones. Sickle Cell Anemia makes the cells very fragile and they don’t survive for a long period of time, or as long as normal cells do. Sickle cell also makes the cells inflexible which make them more able to block small blood vessels.

8. LONG TERM SYMPTOMS Attacks of Abdominal pain Bone pain Breathlessness Delayed growth and puberty Fatigue Fever Jaundice Paleness Rapid heart rate vulnerability to infections Ulcers on the lower legs

9. COMPLICATIONS WITH THE BODY Higher risk of stroke Acute Chest Syndrome: chest pain, fever and difficulty breathing Organ damage: usually kidneys, liver and spleen Blindess

10. HOW SICKLE CELL DIFFERS FROM NORMAL CELLS

11. DIFFERENT TYPES OF SICKLE CELL The most common: Sickle cell anemia (SS) Sickle-Hemoglobin C disease (SC) n Sickle Beta-plus Thalassemia Sickle Beta-Zero Thalassemia

12. WHAT CAN YOU DO TO STAY WELL? Eat well Drink lots of water Get adequate rest protect yourself from infections Exercise, but limit the amount of time and vigor Avoid extreme heat or cold Avoid Stress Avoid high elevations

13. Some Statistics of Sickle Cell Sickle cell is most common in countries like Africa, South and Central America, The Islands, India and Saudi Arabia. In the U.S: 1 of every 500 African American births will have sickle cell 1 in every 12 African Americans have sickle cell trait. 1 of every 1, 000 to 1, 400 Hispanic births will be affected. Approximately 2 million Americans have sickle cell

14. TREATMENT Sickle cell treatments are available based on the different symptoms a person might have. Treatments of pain can be treated with over the counter medicine. Bone Marrow transplant Medications: Antibiotics, Hydroxyurea (cancer pain medications, only used in sever cases of sickle cell anemia). Blood transfusions

15. CITATION http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Sca/SCA_Causes.html http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Sca/SCA_Treatments.html http://www.sicklecelldisease.org/about_scd/glossary.phtml http://www.clarian.org/ADAM/doc/In-DepthReports/10/000058.htm http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/posters/chromosome/sca.shtml http://www.umm.edu/blood/sickle.htm http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sickle-cell-anemia/DS00324/DSECTION=7 http://www.vahealth.org/sicklecell/datasc.htm