SICKLE CELL ANEMIA

WHAT IS SICKLE CELL ANEMIA

Sickle cell anemia is a severe, hereditary form of anemia

where the hemoglobin in your blood cells create a crescent
shaped red blood cell instead of a donut shaped blood cell.
The crescent shape doesnt allow oxygen to bind very easily,
so oxygen cant be taken to your cells. Also, the donut shape
of the red blood cells allows them to be flexible to move
through large or small blood vessels, but the sickle cells are
hard, rigid, and sticky so they dont move through blood
vessels very well, and can cause pain.
ORGANS AFFECTED BY THIS DISEASE

Since this form of anemia prevents

oxygen from getting to cells, basically
every organ is affected, as none of their
cells get a proper oxygen intake due to
the oxygen not being able to bind to
the hemoglobin. Organs are also
affected because the sickled blood cells
cant flow through small blood vessels
correctly.
 CAUSES OF SCA

Sickle cell anemia is a genetic

disease that is passed on through
a pattern called autosomal
recessive inheritance. In this
picture, the R represents a
normal hemoglobin gene, while
the r represents the gene for
sickle cell anemia.
SYMPTOMS & EFFECTS

Symptoms of sickle cell anemia

include symptoms of regular
anemia (fatigue), due to the short
life span of sickled blood cells (20
days, over the regular 120 days it
takes regular blood cells to die),
pain episodes because the sickled
blood cells stick to the walls of
small blood vessels and block
blood flow, infections are common
as sickle cells damage your spleen,
which helps fight off infections,
jaundice, and you can even get
strokes from sickle cell anemia.
TREATMENT

Because SCA is genetic, it cant be cured

but there are medications and
treatments that can subside the
symptoms. Pain medication can be given
to treat pain episodes, and something
called hydroxyurea can be given to
reduce the pain from episodes and
reduce the need to get blood
transfusions because it stimulates
production of fetal hemoglobin. Blood
transfusions can also be given to dilute
the sickled cells with normal hemoglobin.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sickle-cell-anemia/basics/treatment/con-20019348
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sca
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/hematology_and_blood_disorders/sickle_ce
ll_disease_85,P00101/