National Sickle Cell Awareness Month: Guideline-concordant preventive care often lacking

ByMatthew Shinkle

Fact checked byMindy Valcarcel, MS

September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month.

The congressional designation is intended to focus attention on the need for improved treatments and additional research for the condition, which affects an estimated 100,000 people in the United States.

Photo of sickle cells — September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month. In conjunction with this observation, Healio provides the following updates in sickle cell disease research and treatment. *Image: Adobe Stock.*

In conjunction with this observation, Healio provides the following updates in sickle cell disease research and treatment.

1. Researchers at Boston Medical Center identified a new small molecule — SR-18292 — that could benefit people with sickle cell disease who do not respond to hydroxyurea. Read more.

2. Hydroxyurea did not affect ovarian reserve among girls and young women with sickle cell disease. The findings — which contradict a long-held consensus — showed patients who received hydroxyurea had similar ovarian follicle densities as those who did not. Read more.

3. Many children with sickle cell anemia do not receive guideline-concordant preventive care to reduce their risks for serious infections or stroke. Read more.

4. Exagamglogene autotemcel (Casgevy; CRISPR Therapeutics, Vertex Pharmaceuticals) drastically reduced the number of vaso-occlusive crises among people with sickle cell disease. Read more.

5. About two-thirds of newborns with sickle cell disease in the United States are born to mothers who live in counties with high or very high levels of social vulnerability. Read more.

6. The release of the 2016 CDC guidelines for prescribing opioids for chronic pain may have had unintended consequences for patients with sickle cell disease. Read more.

7. Nearly three-quarters of individuals with sickle cell disease are not using disease-modifying therapies in their treatment. Read more.

Reference:

NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. What is sickle cell disease? Available at: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sickle-cell-disease. Posted Aug. 28, 2024. Accessed Sept. 16, 2024.

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National Sickle Cell Awareness Month: Guideline-concordant preventive care often lacking

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