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Sickle Cell Anemia
Summary: Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disease resulting from a genetic mutation in red blood cells that occurred due to a malaria epidemic in Africa, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and other regions many years ago. Its symptoms include severe pain, anemia, hand-foot syndrome, jaundice, constant infections, stunted growth, and vision difficulties. Patients are treated with antibiotics, blood transfusions, supplemental oxygen, and bone marrow transplants, and the latest research indicates potential for gene therapy, butyric acid, clotrimazole, and nitric oxide. These developments give sickle cell anemia patients a much greater chance for a cure.
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disease caused by a genetic mutation in red blood cells that occurred many years ago. This mutation evolved due to the fact that malaria in regions such as Africa, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and India had undergone an epidemic. This epidemic was caused by malaria which had killed many people within those areas. The mutated red blood cell formed into an irregular shaped cell that was rigid. This new shape did not allow the malaria parasites to grow within the cell and therefore prevented malaria in many individuals. Over many years, the people that had carried this trait reproduced and traveled across the globe. Resulting in a massive spread of what is now known as sickle cell anemia.
Sickle cell anemia is caused by an error made in the hemoglobin gene. Hemoglobin is a protein that is found within every red...
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This section contains 992 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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