Hello friends,
There are some persons in so much pain in our world, reoccurring intermittent chronic pains caused by so many prevalent ailments ravaging the society we live in.
This persons need our care and support, our love and whatsoever form of encouragement we can extend towards them.
This persons suffer from emotional stress,frustration,inferiority complex,acute pain and depression.
Today I want to talk about a certain inherited,chronic disease, that ravages some part of our world.
The Sickle Cell Disease
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The sickle cell disease is a group of blood disorder that is inherited from a person's parent, the sickle celled patient must have inherited two gene of the sickle haemoglobin from one parent in order to have this disease.
This disease is among the most common inherited blood disorder, it is mostly prevalent among African American and Africans,about one in 2 African American and Africans carry the sickle cell trait.
In my country Nigeria,about 24% of the population has the sickle cell trait.
Inheritance of the sickle cell disease and the sickle cell trait
For the sickle cell disease,the gene involved control the production of a protein in red blood celled haemoglobin, it is this haemoglobin that binds oxygen in the lungs and deliver it to the peripheral tissue,in sickled celled patient, the haemoglobin is shaped like a sickle and this does not allow for easy carriage of oxygen to the body tissues thereby causing pain which frequently come as crisis.
A one in four chance exist that a child will inherit the normal gene from the parent, same chance also exist that a child would inherit the sickle gene, it is a 50-50 chance, the odds can not be determined or altered.
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Factors that influence the Sickle cell disease
Though there are some environmental factors that might affect the SCD, most are generally genetic.
•Thalassemia :
This is one of the most important genetic factor,which reduces the production of normal haemoglobin, a person with one normal haemoglobin gene and one thalassemia gene has the thalassemia trait, and should one parent have the sickle cell trait and the other thalassemia trait, then any child they conceive has one chance in four of receiving one gene for SCD, this condition is called the "b-thalassemia".
Some persons with the b-thalassemia have a condition as severe as sickle cell disease itself.
• Haemoglobin C
The abnormal haemoglobin c protein is relatively harmless, people with two haemoglobin C gene have a relative mild clinical condition termed the "haemoglobin C disease",when haemoglobin C combines with haemoglobin S, the result is the "haemoglobin SC" disease, on average this condition is milder than the sickle cell disease.
Who could get the SCD
The following diagram would help you understand better the swapping of gene trait.
![Inheritance-of-sicle-cell-anaemia.gif]
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Conditions that promotes sickling
Sickling is the process by which the red blood cells in Sickle cell anaemia of SCD is destroyed,and this results in cell abnormal shaping and diminishing.
•Low oxygen level
•Increased body fluid acidity
•Anaesthesia
•Body dehydration
These conditions can occur as a result of injury to the body tissues and other situations that reduces metabolism rate.
SCD Diagnosis
.•The sickle cell prep:
The abnormal sickle shaped cell in the blood can be identified under a microscope, we can test a smear of blood using a special low oxygen preparation
•Solubility test:
You can detect the abnormal haemoglobin S by performing test on tubes of blood solution.
•Prenatal Diagnosis :
Using aminocentesis or chronic villus sampling, dna analysis of fetal cell identifies the haemoglobin by separating them.
Symptoms
ThIs are resultant of blocking of the blood flow circulation,and impaired blood circulation from lack of oxygen causes damage to tissues that can lead to severe disability in patients with the sickle cell anaemia.
These are some of the symptoms
- Fatigue
- Pain crisis
- Arthritis
- Dactylitis
5.Bacterial Infection - Splenic sequestration (sudden pooling of blood)
- Liver congestion
- Anaemia
- Lung and heart injury
- Leg ulcer
- Necrosis and bone
- Eye disease
- Osteoporosis
- Kidney infection
15.Priapism
16.Stroke
Treatment
•Antibiotics :
•Pain management
• Blood Transfusion
•Hydroxyure: An anti-tumor drug that stimulates the production of fetal haemoglobin; fetal haemoglobin helps prevent the sickling of red blood cells
• Bone management transplant :
Currently this is the only available cure,here a sick patient is transplanted with bone marrow from a healthy genetically compatible sibling donor.
Note. : this procedure is a risky and complicated one.
image source
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SCD= Sickle cell disease
Support
I know people with this pain, I see them suffer, and I wish I can do something to help,i try the best I can, if you are out there with the SCD, do not give up, stay strong,stay happy, march forward, you are in pain,find a gain in it.
you are not alone, click here to see testimonies of those who are living with it and are surviving, you can too.
Genetic counseling can be helpful to patients, parents and families of the sickle cell disease, encouragement and financial aid is needful.
If you have someone who has this ailments, try as much as you can to support in anyway you can.
Cheers.
Together we can!
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