A Study On Sickle Cell Disease

People with sickle cell anemia have inherited two sickle cell genes, one from each parent. A child who has inherited the sickle cell gene from only one parent will not develop the disease, but will have sickle cell trait. People who have sickle cell trait don't have sickle cell anemia or symptoms of the disease, but they can pass the sickle cell gene to their own children.

Locate, cite (quote or paraphrase) and share a reliable information source(s) that discusses a degenerative disease experienced at a higher rate among Black/African Americans (vs. American majority statistics)

Sickle Cell Disease, also referred to as SCD, is a genetically inherited disease that causes abnormal hemoglobin, called hemoglobin S or sickle hemoglobin, in red blood cells. This disease currently affects about 90,000-100,000 Americans, a majority being African-American. Because SCD is genetically inherited, it is not contagious. It is inherited when both parents of a child carry the sickle cell trait, also called SCT. SCT and SCD are not the same. In SCT, the person is generally healthy and does not endure what one with SCD does, they are simply a “carrier” of the sickle cell trait. SCD cannot be inherited if only one parent is a carrier. If both parents are carriers of the sickle cell trait, the child still only has a 25% chance of being born with sickle cell. They have a 50% chance of being born with a single trait, making them a carrier, and a 25% chance of being born with normal hemoglobin. About 1 in 13 African-American babies are born as a carrier and 1 in 365 are born with the disease.

Sickle cell disease is an inherited form of anemia. This means both parents must pass on the defective gene for a child to be affected. The gene is more common in families that come from Saudi Arabia, Africa, Mediterranean countries, India, the Caribbean islands, and North, South, and Central America of African descent.

Sickle cell disease is categorized as an autosomal recessive disease. That means in order for one to inherit the disease, they must inherit two recessive alleles for sickle cell disease, or hemoglobin S gene. Having only one recessive allele makes you a carrier. The disorder causes the affected person’s red blood cells to disfigure into a crescent or sickle, which differs from the normal red blood cells that shaped into a doughnut. Sometimes, cells in a sickle shape cannot get through the narrow passageways of the blood vessels as easily as normal red blood cells. This blocks blood from entering and oxygen can’t reach the affected person’s organs. It can also crystallize and block arteries and

Sickle cell disease is a hereditary blood disorder caused by an abnormal hemoglobin in the red blood cell. Hemoglobin is a type of protein that carries oxygen in the body. In order for someone to have sickle cell disease they would need to have been passed down from at each one of their parents, by inheriting a total of two hemoglobin genes. The fact that this is a hereditary disease means that it is not considered to be contagious. This disease comes in about six different forms, but the most severe of them all is sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell is an inherited disease that affects the red blood cells causing debilitating symptoms, however, with treatment people with this disease can quite possibly live an otherwise

All of the cells within the tissues of the body need a regular supply of oxygen to function. The hemoglobin found in red blood cells (RBC’s) are essential for the proper transport of oxygen molecules. They bind oxygen in the lungs and carry to every tissue within the body. Due to the structure of hemoglobin, normal RBC’s are donut shaped with a concaved center. This flexible shape is what allows the BRC’s to move freely into very small spaces such as capillaries where they will deliver their oxygen. Sickle cell anemia or other diseases that fall within the broader group of disorders characterized by SCD describe conditions where the protein (hemoglobin) has misfolded and altered the shape of the cell. Sickle hemoglobin allows for the formation of stiff rods within the red blood cell giving it a sickle, or crescent shape. This new shape is not flexible and can block or slow the flow of blood. When this occurs, oxygen cannot reach its intended tissues. This results in severe pain called crises, and these attacks occur

The only way you get sickle cell is by inheritance from a family member, whether it be your mom or your dad. If a person inherits the sickle cell gene from only one parent will not develop the gene but will have something called sickle cell trait. People with sickle cell trait do not have the disease, but they might have a few sickle cell blood cells in their bodies. Although having sickle cell trait does not give them the disease they have the sickle cell gene and it will be passed down to their kids. Kids and parents may never know for a fact if they have the gene or not that is why doctors recommend getting checked out for sickle cell genes. To check for sickle cell genes doctors use a special blood test called a hemoglobin electrophoresis. All newborns get screened and tested for sickle disease. It is required in every state to have your newborn tested for sickle cell

The parents of a person with sickle cell anemia do not have to have the disease, but only the trait for their offspring to be born with the disease. Couples wishing to conceive can be tested to see if either one of them poses the sickle cell gene.

When the chromosomes are inherited, a mutated gene can be passed from carrier or afflicted parents to their offspring. The inheritance of sickle cell disease therefore depends on this mutation. Afflicted people have a mutation on chromosome 11 which codes for the beta subunit of haemoglobin. It reflects a single base change (GATGTT) of amino acids that distorts the erythrocytes into a severely concave shape at low oxygen concentrations (reference). If one beta globin is sickle and the other is normal, the person is not anaemic, however they are an autosomal heterozygous carrier of sickle cell disease. If both beta globin genes are affected by the mutation, the person is homozygous recessive and becomes

The genetic disorder I will be discussing is Sickle Cell Disease. Sickle Cell Disease is an inherited blood disorder. Children who have this disease have two defective hemoglobin S genes, which they receive one from each parent. This gene occurs in chromosome 11. The sickle cell gene is passed from generation to generation in a pattern of inheritance called autosomal recessive inheritance. This means that both the mother and the father must pass on the defective form of the gene for a child to be affected. If only one parent passes the sickle cell gene to the child, that child will have the sickle cell trait.

In high-income countries like the United States, the life expectancy of a person with SCD is now about 40–60 years. In 1973, the average lifespan of a person with SCD in the United States was only 14 years. Advances in the diagnosis and care of SCD have made this improvement possible. Sickle Cell disease affects mostly African, Mediterranean and related ancestries it is passed on through generational traits and common related blood type. Sickle Cell disease is a disease that causes painful attacks called crises; which causes throbbing in their bones and backs. Sickle cell is caused by a protein that is abnormal called hemoglobin S which causes the shape of red blood cells to change into a sickle or crescent type shape. (George Buchanan, 2010) Cells in tissues need a steady supply of oxygen to work well. Normally, hemoglobin in red blood cells takes up oxygen in the lungs and carries it to all the tissues of the body. Red blood cells that contain normal hemoglobin are disc shaped (like a doughnut without a hole). This shape allows the cells to be flexible so that they can move through large and small blood vessels to deliver oxygen. Sickle hemoglobin is not like normal hemoglobin. Sickle-shaped cells are not flexible and can stick to vessel walls, causing a blockage that slows or stops the flow of blood. When this happens, oxygen can’t reach nearby

Sickle-cell anemia is a genetic disease. People who are affected have two copes of the mutant gene. Normally, if a patient is heterozygous for the sickle-cell gene, they do not display any symptoms of the disease. Sickle-cell anemia is characterized by a deformation of red blood cells that are elongated and resemble sickles. In sickle-cell disease, mutated hemoglobin binds together to form large masses, which give the red blood cells their sickle shape. The hemoglobin found in this disease is referred to as hemoglobin S (Hb S), as opposed to normal adult hemoglobin, hemoglobin A (Hb A).

Sickle Cell Disease can be inherited from your parents. If both of the parents are carriers for Sickle Cell, there is a 25% chance of having a child with SCD, a 50% chance of having a child with SCT, and a 25% chance of having a normal child. If both parents are normal, and are not carriers of SCD, than

Even the slightest changes within a single protein may greatly affect the health of a human being and their descendants. Sickle cell blood anemia is a type of blood disorder in which the proteins within the affected person have slightly mutated in order to form a sickle shaped cell. This can cause chronic health problems to a patient that has sickle cell anemia since their sickle shaped blood cells may obstruct their circulatory system. Despite this disease being chronic, a patient can only get sickle cell anemia if they have inherited it. Sickle cell anemia is most commonly inherited by African Americans and Hispanics. In other words, sickle cell anemia is a chronic disease in which a person is inheritably born with some sickle shaped blood