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Sickle Cell Anemia Anemia (Greek for bloodlessness), a blood condition involving an abnormal reduction in the number of red blood cells (erythrocytes) or in their hemoglobin content. These cells are the means by which oxygen is carried to the various parts of the body. People who are anemic get symptoms caused by not enough delivery of oxygen to their body tissues. There are three primary causes of anemia: (1) Reduced production of red blood cells, which may result from lacking nutrients or hormones, or from disease or other conditions. (2) Destruction of red blood cells, often a hereditary problem. (3) Excessive blood loss. The most common type of anemia is iron-deficiency anemia, which occurs when the bodys need for iron increases, as during certain periods of childhood and in pregnancy, or when there is insufficient iron in the diet.
Pernicious anemia, a chronic ailment that mostly affects people over 40, is a result of vitamin B 12 deficiency, often caused by decreased B 12 absorption rather than a deficient diet. The most common symptoms of anemia are pallor, shortness of breath, low vitality, dizziness, and digestive disorders. Sickle-cell anemia is the result of a hereditary defect in the synthesis of hemoglobin. Past treatments of this disease included removal of the spleen, repeated transfusions of blood, and a diet featuring beef or calf's liver. Transfusions are still used in cases of acute blood loss. Iron supplements for iron-deficiency anemia and injections of vitamin B 12 for pernicious anemia are often effective.
Synthetically manufactured erythropoietin (normally produced by the human kidney) is now used to stimulate the production and growth of red blood cells. Other therapy focuses on curing the underlying causes of the nutritional or hormonal deficiency. Formation of abnormal hemoglobin is responsible for the hereditary defects called sickle-cell anemia and thalassemia major. Both are severe diseases that can be fatal in childhood. Sickle-Cell Anemia, also sickle-cell disease, hereditary condition in which hemoglobin, an oxygen-carrying protein in the blood, is altered, leading to periodic interruptions in blood circulation. In the U.
S. the disease is found predominantly in blacks, of whom approximately 1 in 400 are affected; it also occurs in the Middle East and the Mediterranean area. Symptoms of the condition appear at about six months of age and may include enlargement of the abdomen and heart and painful swelling of the hands and feet. In adolescence, sexual maturation may be delayed. The disturbances in blood flow associated with the disease also dispose affected persons to infections and leg ulcers. These symptoms are due to the altered hemoglobin, which changes shape when the amount of oxygen in the blood is reduced for any reason.
The red blood cell in which the hemoglobin is contained changes its shape as well, from round to crescent (sickle shaped). The sickle-shaped red cells interfere with normal blood flow by plugging up small blood vessels. Sickle-cell anemia occurs when an individual inherits a sickle-cell gene from each parent. There now is programs to detect carriers, who don t show the trait; such carriers are informed that a child resulting from the union of two carriers (parents) runs a one-in-four risk of having sickle-cell disease. Therapy for sickle-cell anemia is largely symptomatic. Preventive administration of penicillin to affected children by the age of four months greatly decreases mortality from infections.
For this reason, routine screening of newborns for sickle-cell anemia is currently carried out in more than 40 states within the United States.
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Research essay sample on Sickle Cell Anemia Red Blood Cells
