Sickle cell disease; An overview of the disease and its systemic effects

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited red blood cell (RBC) disorder caused by the presence of an abnormal hemoglobin, called hemoglobin S (HbS) or sickle hemoglobin. It is the most prevalent genetic blood disorder worldwide.1,2 The two major characteristics are chronic hemolytic anemia and intermittent vaso-occlusion that results in tissue ischemia and causes acute, severe pain episodes. SCD is a chronic disease that has detrimental effects on the entire body and requires a multidisciplinary team for management.

Source: Disease a Month - February 7, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Nadia Kawar, Sahar Alrayyes, Anne-Ashley Compton, Haider Aljewari, Danny Baghdan, Bin Yang, Reihaneh Goreishi, Sandra Mohama Source Type: research