Sickle cell anemia (SCD) facts

Sickle cell anemia (sickle cell disease) is a disorder of the blood caused by an inherited abnormal hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying protein within the red blood cells). The abnormal hemoglobin causes distorted (sickled) red blood cells. The sickled red blood cells are fragile and prone to rupture. When the number of red blood cells decreases from rupture (hemolysis), anemia is the result. This condition is referred to as sickle cell anemia. The irregular sickled cells can also block blood vessels causing tissue and organ damage and pain.

Sickle cell anemia is one of the most common inherited blood anemias. The disease primarily affects Africans and African Americans. It is estimated that in the United States, some 90,000 to 100,000 Americans are afflicted with sickle cell anemia. Overall, current estimates are that one in 500 U.S. African American births is affected with sickle cell anemia.

Sickle cell anemia is inherited as an autosomal (meaning that the gene is not linked to a sex chromosome) recessive condition. This means that the gene can be passed on from a parent carrying it to male and female children. In order for sickle cell anemia to occur, a sickle cell gene must be inherited from both the mother and the father, so that the child has two sickle cell genes.

The inheritance of just one sickle gene is called sickle cell trait or the "carrier" state. Sickle cell trait does not cause sickle cell anemia. Persons with sickle cell trait usually do not have many symptoms of disease and have hospitalization rates and life expectancies identical to unaffected people. When two carriers of sickle cell trait mate, their offspring have a one in four chance of having sickle cell anemia. (In some parts of Africa, one in five persons is a carrier for sickle cell trait.)

Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 5/21/2015

Sickle Cell Disease (Sickle Cell Anemia) - Experience Question: Please describe your experience with sickle cell disease (sickle cell anemia).

Sickle Cell Disease (Anemia) - Diagnosis Question: How was your sickle cell anemia diagnosed?

Sickle Cell Disease (Sickle Cell Anemia) - Symptoms Question: At what age did symptoms of sickle cell anemia first appear in someone you know? Please describe other symptoms.

Red blood cells are manufactured in the bone marrow. Their unique biconcave shape (think of squeezing a marshmallow between your fingers) increases their storage capacity for hemoglobin molecules that carry oxygen. They also make the cells pliable and soft so they can squeeze through the tiniest blood vessels in the body. In sickle disease, the red blood cells form an abnormal crescent shape that is rigid, causing the red blood cells to be damaged. The cells aren't malleable enough to get through tight spaces, and this can increase the risk of forming blood clots in the small capillaries of different organs causing the potential for organ damage.

See the rest here:
Sickle Cell Anemia: Learn About SCD Symptoms and Treatment

Comments are closed.