Originally published September 14 2005
St. Jude studies advances in sickle cell anemia treatments
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
In an effort to ease the discomfort of children with sickle cell anemia and to prevent a second stroke in such patients, a study led by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital aims to see whether a new combination therapy can replace current treatments for sickle cell anemia, which include nightly drug injections and monthly blood transfusions.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will lead a national Phase III clinical trial to investigate whether a new combination treatment can prevent a secondary stroke in children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) and eliminate the need for nightly injections with a drug that reduces iron overload in these patients.
The five-year study, called Stroke With Transfusions Changing to Hydroxyurea (SWiTCH), is supported by a grant of more than $18 million from the National Institutes of Health (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) and includes 20 major pediatric sickle cell centers in addition to St. Jude.
SCA is an inherited disease in which the oxygen-carrying protein in the red blood cells is abnormal, giving the red cells a twisted (sickled) shape that can disrupt circulation, leading to pain, stroke, and other disabling and sometimes fatal complications.
There is reason to hope that SWiTCH could finally give us a better way to enhance the lives of these children, who suffer daily from their disease and face the threat of stroke and early death."
The nightly injections of Desferal, an iron chelator, are painful and inconvenient, often prompting children to forego the injection, since iron buildup does not initially cause the child discomfort, but the injections always do.
Hydroxyurea will not completely eliminate the sickled red cells, but it is expected to stimulate production of enough red cells carrying fetal hemoglobin to reduce SCA symptoms.
The study will also compare the efficacy of daily at-home injections of Desferal with the less painful and more convenient monthly removal of blood (phlebotomy) at a medical facility.
Specifically, SWiTCH will include children who have already suffered one stroke and are at risk for additional strokes because of blood vessel damage in their brains.
"This is the first study to directly compare transfusions with hydroxyurea for the treatment of SCA," Ware said.
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