A new stem cell treatment has been developed which may help patients with sickle cell anaemia and this treatment has already been successfully tested on a Canadian woman with her condition being cured.
Sickle cell anaemia is a genetic mutation that causes some red blood cells to be malformed. This can cause blood cells to become stuck in blood vessels, which prevents them from reaching organs. This can result in organ damage that shortens the lifespan of sufferers. About 70,000 to 100,000 Americans have the condition.
The new stem cell treatment uses bone marrow to restore the patient’s ability to generate healthy blood cells. It was previously thought that bone marrow stem cells were too toxic to use as a cure for sickle cell anaemia, but these new findings suggest it might be viable as a cure.
Previous attempts at developing a stem cell treatment for sickle cell anaemia have failed. One recent study from 2014 found that most of the patients developed anaemia again after receiving a bone marrow transplant. Researchers have developed new techniques which they believe will increase the success rate of the procedure.
Unfortunately, there are other risks associated with bone marrow transplants. A small percentage of patients will die from the procedure and some may become infertile. However, many patients will be willing to take these risks as sickle cell anaemia usually shortens a person’s lifespan significantly. The median age at death for people with sickle cell anaemia is 42 for males and 48 for females.
This new stem cell treatment uses chemotherapy to kill the patient’s bone marrow before it is replaced with healthy marrow. This “resets” the patient’s blood-forming stem cells, allowing them to produce healthy red blood cells.
Source: Stem Cell Treatment Offers Hope for Sickle Cell Anemia Cure
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