This Week In Sickle Cell News September 15th to the 21st

By Sean Marshall

Ugandan sickle cell patients are getting a new trial drug this week. An article published on newvision.co on the 16th of September explained that over 200 Ugandan citizens with sickle cell anemia are part of a clinical trial for an effective new rug to fight sickle cell disease. The drug is called Hydroxyuria and is designed to "manage acute pain and reduce the need for blood transfusions in children."

Hydroxyuria has had success in The United States and Europe but this is the one of the first clinical trials in their own country. The clinical trials are supposed to start October and the test subjects have been specified to show "that only children aged between 12 and 47 months are eligible to take part in the one-year clinical trial." This is due to the fact that the drug has the most drastic effect on children rather than adults.

The team conducting the testing explained that "the testing would determine the effectiveness of the drug where patients have malaria and its possible side effects." According to the website if the drug is effective it will be included on Uganda's list of essential drugs.

The article also references other sickle cell related topics the Ugandan people are going through. Such issues as the rising levels of babies born with the disease, the numbers are as high as 25,000, or that 12% of the population are carriers.

Other interesting but not necessarily pressing issues covered also included how the regional areas come into play. That in Kenya and Tanzanian coastal towns has a higher rate of individuals who have sickle cell then inland areas.

This was not the main focus of the article but these other aspects are interesting piece of information an when battling sickle cell anemia any little tip or scrap of information could lead to a big breakthrough.

If you would like to learn more about the different issues covered you can go to the link below: http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/659770-200-ugandan-patients-for-sickle-cell-drug-trial.html

Other news this week includes a new home testing kit for anemia related blood illnesses. One version of the story appeared on medgadget.com. It explained that a new technology "could accurately generate an accurate diagnosis from less than a drop of blood." It would work in the same way diabetes blood sugar testing devices work. When scanning blood sugar levels only the device would check for sickling cells or other anemic blood disorders.

The device was tested on 238 different patients ranging from children to adults, the study showed that "the one minute blood sample test produced consistent data and was similar to anemia tests used in the laboratory." The article pointed out that as long as there is interest in the study researchers predict that the handheld device should be in pharmacies by as early as 2016.

If you would like more details on how the ins and outs of the article or learn about the device in more detail you can go to the link provided here: http://www.medgadget.com/2014/09/new-home-diagnosis-technology-for-anemia-with-less-than-a-drop-of-blood.html

Or check out similar stories about the same device here: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20140915/Simple-point-of-care-testing-device-provides-more-rapid-diagnosis-of-anemia.aspx

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