Screening to help prevent stroke in kids increases, but limited access a problemApril 14, 2009ST. PAUL, Minn. - The number of children with a certain blood disorder undergoing an ultrasound to help prevent stroke is up significantly in the past 10 years since the publication of a major study showing its benefits. However, limited access to labs that perform this type of screening appears to be a barrier to helping these children who are at a high risk of stroke. The research is published in the April 14, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Researchers followed 157 children with sickle cell disease in northern California for an average of 8.5 years. Sickle cell disease is a lifelong blood disorder that increases a child's risk of stroke. Roughly one out of 10 children with the disease suffers a stroke by age 20. For the study, researchers determined how many children underwent a transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) screening since 1998, when a major study, known as the STOP trial, was published. The STOP trial showed a more than 90-percent reduction in the stroke rate of children with sickle cell disease who received a TCD screening and were identified as having a high risk of stroke and could therefore have blood transfusion therapy. Since the STOP trial, the current study found the rate of TCD screening among children with sickle cell disease has increased six-fold while the annual stroke rate has dropped by more than half. However, researchers found children living farther away from a vascular laboratory were less likely to be screened. "Stroke in children with sickle cell disease should be a largely preventable disease, however, not all children at risk are getting screened," said Heather J. Fullerton, MD, MAS, with the University of California, San Francisco. "Limited access to labs that perform TCD screening, even among kids with comprehensive health insurance, appears to be a barrier to helping these kids reduce their high risk of stroke. Increased availability of these screening labs may help prevent stroke in these high risk children." Guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology recommend TCD screening of children with sickle cell disease beginning at age two. American Academy of Neurology |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Sickle Cell Disease Current Events and Sickle Cell Disease News Articles Drug shows promise in treating dangerous complication of erectile disorder Thousands of men are afflicted with an embarrassing and painful condition that triggers spontaneous, long-lasting erections. There are limited treatment options, but a solution could be on the way thanks to new research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. That '4 hour erection': new discovery may help prevent a complication of priapism For men coping with painful erections lasting for long periods of time, or priapism, new research published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) offers hope. Males May Experience Greater Physical Pain Due To Lower Levels Of A Key Protein, Endothelin Agonizing physical pain, known as vaso-occlusive pain, can afflict children who have sickle cell disease (SCD). Mother's immune system may block fetal treatments for blood diseases Pediatric researchers have resolved an apparent contradiction in the field of prenatal cell transplantation- a medical approach that holds future promise in correcting sickle cell disease and other serious congenital blood disorders. NHLBI stops study of pulmonary hypertension treatment in sickle cell patients The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has stopped a clinical trial testing a drug treatment for pulmonary hypertension in adults with sickle cell disease nearly one year early due to safety concerns. Children's Hospital Oakland scientists first to discover new source for harvesting stem cells A groundbreaking study conducted by Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland is the first to reveal a new avenue for harvesting stem cells from a woman's placenta, or more specifically the discarded placentas of healthy newborns. UC HEALTH LINE: Spirituality May Help Adolescents Cope With Chronic Illness Chronic illness can lead to poorer quality of life-particularly for adolescents. New research shows that spirituality may help teens cope with their conditions. Studies examine quality of care for hospitalized sickle cell disease patients A study assessing the quality of care for patients with sickle cell disease in a variety of hospital settings will be presented at a press conference on Saturday, December 6, at 9:30 a.m., during the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology in San Francisco, CA. Ultrasound screening helps prevent stroke in children with sickle cell disease Screening with an ultrasound machine has proved highly successful in preventing stroke among children with sickle cell disease, by identifying children who are then preventively treated with blood transfusions. Gene therapy corrects sickle cell disease in laboratory study Using a harmless virus to insert a corrective gene into mouse blood cells, scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have alleviated sickle cell disease pathology. More Sickle Cell Disease Current Events and Sickle Cell Disease News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||