Anticlotting drug found to be safe in sickle cell patientsOctober 12, 2007CHAPEL HILL - An intravenous "blood thinner" widely used in patients with acute coronary syndromes and during coronary artery stent placement appears to be safe in patients with sickle cell disease and may have beneficial anti-inflammatory effects, a small study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine has found. "We have tested a potentially promising drug in sickle cell patients, and the drug appears to be well tolerated. This gives us the impetus to go ahead with further studies of eptifibatide in these patients," said Dr. Leslie V. Parise, department chair and professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine. The hallmark of sickle cell disease is malformed red blood cells that can cause sudden painful episodes when they block small blood vessels. However, sickle cell patients are also at increased risk of developing multiple other complications, including strokes, lung complications and pulmonary hypertension.
The most frequent manifestations of sickle cell disorders are anemia and pain episodes. The episodic exacerbation of pain, often called "crises," is unpredictable and may occur often in some patients. The only drug presently approved for the treatment of sickle cell disease is hydroxyurea, which has been shown to reduce the frequency of painful episodes. Parise emphasized the need for further study. "We did not test this drug in patients who are in crisis, and we cannot recommend that doctors prescribe this drug for sickle cell patients at this time," she said. The results of the study were published online (Oct. 6) in the British Journal of Haematology. The researchers gave intravenous infusions of eptifibatide (brand name Integrilin) to four patients with sickle cell anemia who were not experiencing pain episodes. "They did well clinically. They did not experience any deleterious changes in their blood tests or have a pain episode," said coauthor Dr. Kenneth I. Ataga, assistant professor of medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill. In the current study, blood tests showed that while the patients' liver, kidney and other functions remained at baseline, several indicators of inflammation decreased, including levels of a protein called CD40L known to play a role in inflammation and in blood clotting. Previous studies conducted by Sheritha Lee a graduate student in Parise's lab showed that patients with sickle cell disease have CD40L levels that are as much as 30 times higher than in patients without the disease. Eptifibatide's known ability to decrease CD40L led the researchers to study whether the drug might help sickle cell patients. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Related Sickle Cell Current Events and Sickle Cell News Articles Children's national co-leads nationwide study of landmark sickle cell treatment Children's National Medical Center immunologist and blood and marrow transplant physician Naynesh Kamani, MD, will serve as the study co-chair for a new national clinical trial of unrelated donor marrow and umbilical cord blood transplants for severe sickle cell disease. Most generalists reluctant to provide primary care for young adults with chronic illness The majority of general internists and pediatricians in the United States are not comfortable serving as primary care providers for young adults with complex chronic illnesses that originate during childhood, according to findings from a new national survey. Consortium develops new method to manipulate genetic material A multi-institutional team of researchers, including scientists at the University of Minnesota Medical School, have developed a powerful tool for genomic research and medicine. Gaining ground on sickle cell disease Although sickle cell disease is a single-gene disorder, its symptoms are highly variable. In a study published online July 14 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists at Children's Hospital Boston and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), in collaboration with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, report five gene variants that could potentially be helpful in predicting sickle cell disease severity, perhaps even leading to better treatment approaches in the future. Effective treatment for sickle cell underused by doctors Uncertainties about proper use and possible long-term effects of hydroxyurea in the treatment of sickle cell anemia may be wrongly influencing doctors to avoid prescribing it to those in serious need, according to results of a literature review by specialists at Johns Hopkins. Statistical tool could explain gene study variations While scientists are using the human genome to associate certain genes with disease, Dr. Hongyan Xu wants to ensure they are accounting for natural variations in those genes. Major 'missed' biochemical pathway emerges as important in virtually all cells A new study by Duke University researchers provides more evidence that the nitric oxide (NO) system in the life of a cell plays a key role in disease, and the findings point to ways to improve treatment of illnesses such as heart disease and cancer. For children with sickle cell disease, lung disease is part of the package Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) have a significantly sharper decline in lung function with age when compared to other children of the same race and age. Clumps of red and white blood cells may contribute to sickle cell disease It's long been known that patients with sickle cell disease have malformed, "sickle-shaped" red blood cells - which are normally disc-shaped - that can cause sudden painful episodes when they block small blood vessels. Researchers at UCLA engineering discover theoretical model to predict jamming Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have come up with a theoretical model to predict when granular materials become jammed. More Sickle Cell Current Events and Sickle Cell News Articles |
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