Active clinical trials for "Anemia, Sickle Cell"

This protocol will be investigating the use of stem cell transplantation, in related donors, to cure sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease is a recessive disorder caused by a point mutation that results in the substitution of valine for glutamic acid at the sixth position in the B-chain of hemoglobin. This leads to sickling of the red blood cells under many conditions, such as hypoxia, dehydration, and hyperthermia. The sickling leads to vaso-occlusion, which causes irreversible damage in almost all systems in the body, including the central nervous system (CNS), lungs, heart, bones, eyes, liver, and kidneys.

The majority of school-age children with sickle cell disease (SCD) experience neurocognitive deficits, even in the absence of stroke. In particular, deficits in attention and working memory have emerged as two of the most common neurocognitive sequelae of SCD. Thus, the goal of the present proposal is to address feasibility and compliance of a novel computerized cognitive training program, Cogmed. Pilot data will also be collected to establish preliminary efficacy. Twenty-four children meeting initial age and diagnostic criteria will be identified and approached about participation by their attending physician during regularly-scheduled SCD clinic visits. Baseline assessments will include a brief measure of intellectual functioning, a brief cognitive testing battery evaluating processing speed and working memory, in addition to questionnaires regarding behavior and quality of life. Children will then be randomized to the computerized CT program Cogmed (n=12) or a waitlist control (n=12). Participants enrolled in the computerized CT program will be asked to complete 25-sessions of Cogmed over a five to eight week period (3 to 5 sessions per week). Following completion of the program, children and their parents will be asked to return to clinic for a follow-up visit. After a five to eight-week waiting period, children in the waitlist condition will also be asked to return to clinic for a second visit. Following this assessment, participants initially enrolled in the waitlist will be offered an opportunity to participant in the intervention. If interested, they will follow the same intervention protocol described above. These children will return to clinic for a third visit following completion of the intervention. Compliance rate and its confidence interval will be calculated for the overall study population. A t-test for binomial proportion with continuity correction will be used to examine whether the compliance rate is lower than the target. Participants' change in criterion outcomes will be evaluated (i.e., those neurocognitive measures such as attention, executive functioning and working memory, that are most closely related to the trained tasks).

The purpose of this study is to compare the safety of SANGUINATE™ versus Hydroxyurea in patients suffering from Sickle Cell Disease.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether Gum Arabic is effective as fetal hemoglobin inducing agent for sickle cell anemia patients.

The purpose of this study is to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic effects of GBT440 compared with placebo in healthy subjects and subjects with sickle cell disease (SCD).

Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is a frequent and potentially life-threatening pulmonary illness. It is a complication of sickle cell disease and is the leading cause of death from this disease in adults. Several pathologic processes are recognized causes of ACS, including infectious diseases, hypoventilation secondary to chest pain, in situ thrombosis and pulmonary fat embolism. Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) has been shown to be a pulmonary vasodilatator with minimal systemic effects and has also been shown to improve gas exchange in both animal and human acute lung injury (ALI). The combined effects of iNO gas of improving pulmonary ventilation to perfusion matching, reducing alveolar and systemic inflammation, modulate the course of acute chest syndrome, which combine the physiopathology of vaso-occlusive crisis and acute lung injury. We hypothesise inhaled NO will improve oxygenation and clinical outcome of sickle cell disease patients with acute chest syndrome.

CD34+ stem cell selection in children, adolescents and young adults receiving partially matched family donor or matched unrelated adult donor allogeneic bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplant will be safe and well tolerated and be associated with a low incidence of serious (Grade III/IV) acute and chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD).

Sickle cell disease (SCD), also known as sickle cell anemia, is an inherited genetic disease that can cause intense pain episodes. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the nutritional supplement arginine at improving blood cell function and disease symptoms in people with SCD.

This study will determine whether niacin can improve blood flow in people with sickle cell disease, in which abnormal red blood cells interfere with blood flow to cause the disease symptoms. Niacin, a drug that has been used to increase HDL (good cholesterol) levels, improves blood flow in people without sickle cell disease. This study will see if it can do the same in people with the disease. Patients with sickle cell disease between 18 and 65 years of age may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with a medical history, physical examination, blood tests, echocardiogram and 6-minute walk test of exercise capacity. Participants have the following baseline blood flow studies: Flow-mediated dilation (FMD): An ultrasound picture of the artery in the forearm is obtained. A blood pressure cuff is then placed on the upper arm and inflated for 5 minutes. After the pressure cuff is released, the ultrasound is repeated. Peripheral artery tonometry (PAT): A sensor is placed on the subject s finger. The sensor puts pressure on the finger and measures blood flow. Standard forearm blood flow test: Small tubes are placed in the artery of the forearm at the inside of the elbow. Saline is infused into one tube. Pressure cuffs are applied to the wrist and upper arm. A strain gauge (rubber band device) is placed around the forearm. When the cuffs are inflated, blood flows into the arm, stretching the strain gauge, and the flow measurement is recorded. Blood samples are collected from the tube in the artery to measure blood counts, proteins and other chemicals. At various times, small doses of the following drugs are administered through the tube in the vein: Sodium nitroprusside causes blood vessels to dilate and increases blood flow to the heart. Acetylcholine causes blood vessels to dilate and slows heart rate. LNMMA decreases blood flow by blocking the production of nitric oxide. Blood flow is measured after each dose of the different drugs. There are rest periods between injections of the different drugs. Pictures of the forearm are taken during the studies using an infrared camera and computer. -Drug Treatment. Participants are assigned to take three 4-week courses of niacin or placebo. They return to the Clinical Center at the following intervals from the time they start the test drug for followup: Weeks 2, 6 and 10: Brief medical history, review of medication side effects and blood tests. Weeks 4 and 8: Physical examination, brief medical history, review of medication side effects and blood tests, repeat FMD and PAT blood flow studies and 6-minute walk test. Week 12: Same as weeks 4 and 8 plus standard blood flow studies and echocardiogram.

The overall goal of this project is to determine the feasibility of conducting a cognitive intervention for children with sickle cell disease.