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Sickle Cell Disease - Coggle Diagram
Sickle Cell Disease
Treatments
Antibiotics, pain management and blood transfusions
A new drug treatment, hydroxyurea, which is an anti-tumor drug, appears to stimulate the production of fetal hemoglobin that helps prevent the "sickling" of red blood cells.
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Gene Therapy is being tested on animals in an attempt to cure sickle cell disease in humans by correcting the defective gene and inserting it into the bone marrow of those with sickle cell to stimulate the production of normal hemoglobin.
The Effects
Sickle cells block the flow of blood through vessels, resulting in lung tissue damage that causes acute chest syndrome, pain episodes, stroke, and priapism.
Sickle Cell Disease also causes damage to the spleen, kidneys, and liver.
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Heredity
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When both parents have the genetic defect, there's a 25% chance that each child will be born with sickle cell disease.
If a child inherits only one copy of the defective gene, there is a 50% chance that the child will carry the sickle cell trait.
Diagnosis
Doctors diagnose sicke cell disease through a blood test that checks for hemoglobin S- the defective form of hemoglobin.
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Sickle cell disease testing is routinely performed on newborns and it can be detected in unborn babies.
Cause
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Abnormal hemoglobin molecules- hemoglobin S- stick to one another and form long, rod-like structures. These structures assume a sickle shape that causes red blood cells to pile up, causing blockages and damaging vital organs and tissue.
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