Factors and Risks of SCD
SCD is an inherited disease. People who have SCD inherit two sickle cell genes (one from each parent). People who inherit a sickle cell gene from one parent and a normal gene from another parent are considered “carriers” of the sickle cell trait. People who have the sickle cell trait can experience some symptoms of SCD, but they usually live normal lives.
People who are of Black or Hispanic descent or said to be at a higher risk for SCD and are encouraged to test for the sickle cell gene. This is because the weakened sickle blood cell is a poor host for the parasite malaria, as the cell lacks the needed nutrients and is selectively eliminated by the liver. This selective advantage of SCD concentrates in areas with high malaria, these areas include:
- sub-Saharan Africa
- Saudi Arabia
- South America
- Central America
Diagnosis
Sickle cell disease can be diagnosed before and after birth by a routine screening methods. A blood test known as Hemoglobin Electrophoresis is used to identify hemoglobin characteristics in the blood after birth. Other ways of diagnosing SCD include Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) or Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PIGD). CVS involves taking a sample of chorionic tissue from the placenta and is then examined at a laboratory. PIGD involves removing eggs from a woman’s ovaries. These are then fertilised using sperm taken from her partner. The fertilised embryo can then be tested for SCD. If test results are negative, the embryo can then be implanted into the woman’s womb.
Treatment
Sickle cell anemia has no widely available cure. However, treatments can help relieve symptoms and treat complications. The goal of treating SCD is to relieve pain, prevent infections, and organ damage. The usual treatments for acute pain is fluids, medicines, and rest. Fluids help prevent dehydration, and medicine helps ease pain a patient will encounter. Severe SCD can be treated with a new medicine called hydroxyurea .This medicine induces your body into making fetal hemoglobin. Fetal hemoglobin, or hemoglobin F, is the type of hemoglobin that newborn babies have. In people who have SCD, fetal hemoglobin helps prevent red blood cells from “sickling” and improves anemia symptoms.
Awareness
Ad campaigns for SCD don’t generally appear in Canadian/American media, they occur more commonly in Black and Hispanic countries. In America, ads aren’t generally present (because it’s mandatory for a baby to be tested for SCD after birth) but there are many organizations that raise awareness of SCD. One of those organizations is called “Sickle Cell Disease Association of America”. They advertise “break the sickle cycle”, by testing early for either the sickle cell trait or the sickle cell gene. These organizations are focused on awareness of SCD in Black and Hispanic cultures because of the frequency in which these cultures are diagnosed with SCD.
“World Sickle Cell Awareness Day” is June 19. This annual event celebrates the date in 2008 when the General Assembly of the United Nations implemented a resolution recognizing SCD as a public health concern. “World Sickle Cell Awareness Day” provides an opportunity to increase understanding of SCD and how the disease affects individuals and families worldwide.
Conclusion
SCD is a disease that affects the hemoglobin in the body, and causes clots in blood vessels when deoxygenated. People diagnosed with SCD often live short and painful lives, although new methods of treatment have greatly enriched the lives of many SCD patients. SCD is becoming a more commonly recognized disease and events such as SCD Awareness day are greatly rising awareness. The future of this disease will be determined by the people, the more people who are affected by SCD and the more awareness about SCD, will cause an increased motivation in possibly finding a cure for SCD.