Sickle Cell Essay

Sickle cell anemia occurs when a person inherits two abnormal genes (one from each parent) that cause their red blood cells to change shape. Instead of being flexible and round, these cells are more rigid and curved in the shape of the farm tool known as a sickle - that's where the disease gets its name. The shape

Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is an inherited blood disease which causes normal, round, healthy red blood cells to transform into sickle-shaped cells. Normal red blood cells are flexible and can easily pass through capillaries to bring oxygen to different parts of the body. However, sickle cells are fragile, and can easily die, leading to anemia (red blood cell deficiency). SCA can also cause blood vessel occlusion (blockage of blood vessels), tissue infarctions (death due to lack of oxygen), bone, joint, and abdominal pain, yellow eyes and skin, pale skin, delayed growth, increased risk of infections, and damage to organs. The disease is passed on by autosomal recessive inheritance, which means both parents of a child must have the defective gene for the child to be affected. If only one gene is inherited, the victim becomes a carrier of the sickle cell trait, producing only some sickle cells with little or no symptoms. This means two people with the trait have a 25% chance of having a baby with sickle cell disease, 25% chance of them having no defects, and 50% chance of the baby becoming a carrier as well. When the gene is inherited, it mutates the beta (β) globin gene in chromosome 11, changing the hemoglobins produced using instructions from the gene from a healthy hemoglobin A (Hb A) to a mutated hemoglobin S (Hb S). Many tests can be done to check for sickle cell disease, the most common being an ordinary blood test, where the blood is examined for hemoglobin S. If the

Sickle cell is a blood disease. People with sickle cell anemia have crescent moon shaped blood cells that are hard and sticky. When the Sickle cells move through blood tubes, they can clog blood flow and break apart. This can cause main, damage, and a low blood count. The symptoms of the disease are not life threatening, however are not enjoyable. Sickle cell anemia can cause you to experience dizziness, headaches, and shortness of breath. Your skin may also turn more yellow or pale than it usually is. Sickle cell is an inherited disease. It is an unpreventable disease that you are born with. If you have a sickle cell gene, you do not have sickle cell, however your children have a 25% chance of having sickle cell anemia. This blood disorder can cause pain and discomfort but it is unlikely that your life will be in danger if you have the disease.

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 Anemia is an inherited, chronic blood disease in which the body produces abnormally shaped red blood cells. When the blood cells become crescent/sickle shaped, they are unable to deliver adequate amounts of oxygen to other cells. Also, these unusual “sickle” cells block blood pathways to the limbs and organs, limiting the amount of blood flowing throughout the body. It causes pain, organ damage, and anemia (low blood count). Unfortunately, however, when sufferers are born with this disease, they live life knowing it is incurable.

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

Sickle Cell Disease, commonly referred to as Sickle Cell Anemia, is a blood disease which red blood cells form an abnormal sickle or crescent shape. Red blood cells carry oxygen to the body and are normally shaped like a disc. This disease is genetically inherited from both parents. If you inherit the sickle cell gene from only one parent, you will have sickle cell trait. People with sickle cell trait do not have the symptoms of sickle cell anemia.

Sickle cell disease is a hereditary blood disorder most common in the African American community. Many people are carriers of the sickle cell trait, however in order for a person to develop sickle cell disease both parents must have passed on the trait to their child. Sickle cell disease causes a mutation in normal red blood cells resulting in decreased tissue perfusion and organ damage. This causes partial or complete replacement of normal hemoglobin with abnormal shaped sickled cells. An abnormal shaped sickled cell may become lodged to a blood vessel where other cells then bind to it and begin to form a clump. The blood vessels continually attach to each other and result in a blockage of small blood vessels eventually resulting in organ

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited and noncontagious, lifelong condition. More specifically, per Ohaeri, Shokunbi, Akinlade, & Dare, 1995, SCD is a generic term for a group of genetic disorders characterized by the predominance of sickle cell hemoglobin (Hgb). Hemoglobin is a protein in the red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body. The disease produces significantly abnormal Hgb molecules in red blood cells (RBCs). In sickle cell anemia, the red blood cells become rigid and sticky and are shaped like sickles or crescent moons. These irregularly shaped cells can get stuck in small blood vessels, which can slow or block blood flow and oxygen to parts of the body (Ohaeri, Shokunbi, Akinlade, & Dare, 1995, p. 955.Individuals

Sickle Cell Disease is a genetic disease. If you have the disease, you have a lower life expectancy while you are also given a tremendous amount of pain to endure. The disease is inherited and it also causes a mutated hemoglobin. When you have this disease, instead of your red blood cells being circular like a moon it is much smaller like the shape of a crescent moon. Our red blood cells

Normal red blood cells are shaped like discs and look like donuts with no hole in the middle. They are rich in hemoglobin and carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. Sickle cell anemia is a disease in which the red blood cells become sickle shaped, or shaped like a crescent. Sickle cells also become sticky and tend to block the blood flow to the limbs and organs (“What is Sickle Cell Anemia?”). People who have sickle cell trait (SCT) do not have the disease, but instead are carriers of it. Most people who have SCT live their lives completely symptom free, however there are some complications that are associated with sickle cell trait. People who have the trait must be careful when they are completing strenuous exercise and when dehydrated. These cases, in extreme form, can lead to complications of sickle cell disease, and even death (“What You Should Know About the Sickle Cell Trait”).

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

Sickle cell anemia is blood disorder characterized by red blood cells assuming a sickle shape. Ordinary small changes in red blood cell shape would not adversely affect the individual. However, due primarily to the excessive shape changes in the red blood cell; complications can arise within the individual. By forming a sickle shape, the red blood cell loses a disproportionate amount of its flexibility due a hemoglobin mutation. Normally, red blood cells are very elastic. This allows them to easily and seamlessly matriculate through the capillaries of the blood system. In sickle cell disease, low oxygen tension promotes red blood cell sickling. After repeated bouts of low oxygen environments the cells fail to return to normal shape when normal oxygen tension is finally restored. This then presents complications as the red blood cells can not matriculate through the capillaries. Due to this mutation complications arise the ultimately shorten the individuals lifespan. For example, as of 2008, the life expectancy of an individual infected with sickle cell anemia is roughly between 60-65 years of age. This is in stark contrast to an ordinary human being who is expected to live roughly 80 years. Various complications can occur that often shorten the lifespan of those who carry the gene. Complications include vaso-occlusive crisis which is caused by red blood cells restricting blood flow through the capillaries

Sickle Cell Anemia is a group of disorders that cause red blood cells to become misshapen and break down. Sickle cell disease is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States, affecting 70,000 to 80,000 Americans (Ashley-Koch, Yang and Olney). Sickle Cell Anemia causes your red blood cells to be thin, stiff, and shaped like a sickle. But your red blood cells are supposed to be round and soft. A person that is diagnosed with sickle cell anemia, their blood cells start to become clogged, causing blood clots, which can cause a great amount of health issues including: infections, stroke, and acute chest syndrome. People get sickle cell anemia by inheriting a mutated gene from both of their parents. On the down side, there is not currently an effective cure for sickle cell anemia, there are several different therapeutic approaches to treating and attempting to cure the disease and help people who are affected with sickle cell anemia better manage their symptoms. There have also been several great scientists that dedicated a lot of research to help find a cure for sickle cell anemia.