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What is Sickle Cell Anemia?

Sickle cell disease is a group of disorders that affects hemoglobin
It is a form of anemia that is inherited through an autosomal recessive pattern
Anemia is a deficiency of red blood cells or hemoglobin, which results in insufficient oxygen throughout the body
“Sickle” comes from the shape of the affected hemoglobin cells
Carriers and those affected have evolutionary advantages for fighting malaria

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Symptoms Pt. 1

“Crisis” or periodic episodes of pain occur when sickle shaped cells block blood flow through small blood vessels.
A yellow coloration of the eyes caused by sickle shaped cells clogging blood vessels in the eyes which can damage the retina as well causing vision problems
Painful swelling of the hands and feet caused by the lack of circulation through clogged blood vessels.

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Symptoms Pt. 2

The sickle cells can damage organs involved in the immune system (like the spleen) causing frequent infections
The sickle cells have a much shorter life span (10 to 20 days opposed to 120 days of a normal cell). The lack of healthy red blood cells results in the lack of transportation of oxygen and nutrients which causes delayed growth and fatigue

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Frequency

autosomal recessive pattern
When two carriers have a child or a person with the condition and a healthy person, there is a 25% chance that the child will have the condition and a 50% chance that the child will be a carrier
Sickle cell disease is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States, affecting 70,000 to 80,000 Americans
1 in 500 African Americans and 1 in 1,000 to 1,400 Hispanic Americans are affected

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Treatment

Treatments are primarily multiple types of medicine to reduce the blockage of blood vessels as well as frequent blood transfusions in order to maintain a healthy amount of hemoglobin cells.

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Hardy-Weinberg

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Work cited

“Sickle Cell Disease - Genetics Home Reference - NIH.” U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, 5 Mar. 2019, ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/sickle-cell-disease#diagnosis

“Sickle Cell Anemia.” Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/8614/sickle-cell-anemia.

“Sickle Cell Anemia.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 8 Mar. 2018, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sickle-cell-anemia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355876.

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