Bone Marrow May Reverse Sickle Cell Damage

The study was published in the February issue of Annals of Neurology.

Many sickle cell patients suffer from vasculopathy, or damaged blood vessels. The damage may be caused by the high rate of blood flow that is typical of patients with this type of anemia. Brain damage and cognitive impairment may be common symptoms. Reversing the progression of vasculopathy through bone marrow transplant may prevent brain damage. Studies are underway to determine if bone marrow transplantation can improve the cognitive ability of patients. The bone marrow of sickle cell patients does not have to be completely obliterated prior to transplant, as is the case for patients with leukemia or other types of cancer.

"As we get older, our arteries clog up with plaque—the older you get, the more clogged they become,” said Grant Steen, Ph.D., author of the study, who conducted the research at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (Memphis, TN, USA; www.stjude.org). "But in kids with sickle cell disease, you can see vasculopathy that might be typical of a 65-year-old hypertensive person, only the child is eight or ten, or sometimes even two years old.”




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