Archive for sickle cell disease
Manny: Hoping new research helps others with sickle cell disease
Emmanuel “Manny” Johnson, Jr., shares many loves with his little brother, Aiden — from basketball to video games. One thing he wishes they did not share is sickle cell disease (SCD), so Manny is playing a role in a new effort to improve treatment for patients like 7-year-old Aiden, himself and others living with the inherited blood disorder. ... Read More about Manny: Hoping new research helps others with sickle cell disease
Reviving fetal hemoglobin in sickle cell disease: First patient is symptom-free
Manny Johnson of Boston, 21, previously required monthly blood transfusions to keep his severe sickle cell disease under control. After receiving a new gene therapy treatment, he’s been symptom-free for six months. Researchers at the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center reported Manny’s case Saturday at the American Society of Hematology meeting in San Diego. Manny ... Read More about Reviving fetal hemoglobin in sickle cell disease: First patient is symptom-free
Sickle cell gene therapy to boost fetal hemoglobin: A 70-year timeline of discovery
Boston Children’s Hospital is now enrolling patients age 3 to 35 in a clinical trial of gene therapy for sickle cell disease. Based on technology developed in its own labs, it differs from other gene therapy approaches by having a two-pronged action. It represses production of the mutated beta hemoglobin that causes red blood cells to ... Read More about Sickle cell gene therapy to boost fetal hemoglobin: A 70-year timeline of discovery
BCL11A-based gene therapy for sickle cell disease passes key preclinical test
Research going back to the 1980s has shown that sickle cell disease is milder in people whose red blood cells carry a fetal form of hemoglobin. The healthy fetal hemoglobin compensates for the mutated “adult” hemoglobin that makes red blood cells stiffen and assume the classic “sickle” shape. Normally, fetal hemoglobin production tails off after birth, shut ... Read More about BCL11A-based gene therapy for sickle cell disease passes key preclinical test
Moving gene therapy into high gear
Gene therapy, still experimental but beginning to enter the clinic, attempts to utilize advanced molecular methods to treat and even reverse genetic diseases. The field started in earnest about 25 years ago and has had many setbacks along the way to its recent earliest successes. International collaboration has been critical. Children’s Hospital Boston is one ... Read More about Moving gene therapy into high gear