SICKLE CELL ANAEMIA

Normal and Sickled Red Blood Cells in Blood Vessels

What Is Sickle Cell Anemia?

Sickle cell anemia is a serious condition in which the red blood cells can become sickle-shaped (that is, shaped like a “C”).

Normal red blood cells are smooth and round like a doughnut without a hole. They move easily through blood vessels to carry oxygen to all parts of the body. Sickle-shaped cells don’t move easily through blood. They’re stiff and sticky and tend to form clumps and get stuck in blood vessels.

The clumps of sickle cells block blood flow in the blood vessels that lead to the limbs and organs. Blocked blood vessels can cause pain, serious infections, and organ damage.

Figure A shows normal red blood cells flowing freely in a blood vessel. The inset image shows a cross-section of a normal red blood cell with normal hemoglobin. Figure B shows abnormal, sickled red blood cells clumping and blocking the blood flow in a blood vessel. The inset image shows a cross-section of a sickled red blood cell with abnormal strands of hemoglobin.

Sickle cell anemia is an inherited, lifelong condition. People who have sickle cell anemia are born with it. They inherit two copies of the sickle cell gene, one from each parent. People who inherit a sickle cell gene from one parent and a normal gene from the other parent have a condition called sickle cell trait.

Sickle cell trait is different from sickle cell anemia. People with sickle cell trait don’t have the condition, but they have one of the genes that cause the condition. Like people with sickle cell anemia, people with sickle cell trait can pass the gene on when they have children. To learn more about sickle cell trait, see the section on causes of sickle cell anemia.

Anemia

Anemia (uh-NEE-me-uh) is a condition in which a person’s blood has a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or the red blood cells don’t have enough hemoglobin (HEE-muh-glow-bin). Hemoglobin is an iron-rich protein that gives blood its red color and carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.

Red blood cells are made in the spongy marrow inside the large bones of the body. Bone marrow constantly makes new red blood cells to replace old ones. Normal red blood cells last about 120 days in the bloodstream and then die. Their main role is to carry oxygen, but they also remove carbon dioxide (a waste product) from cells and carry it to the lungs to be exhaled.

In sickle cell anemia, a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells occurs because sickle cells don’t last very long. Sickle cells die faster than normal red blood cells, usually after only about 10 to 20 days. The bone marrow can’t make new red blood cells fast enough to replace the dying ones. The result is anemia.

Outlook

Sickle cell anemia affects millions of people worldwide. There are excellent treatments for the symptoms and complications of the condition, but in most cases there’s no cure. (Some researchers believe that bone marrow transplants may offer a cure in a small number of cases.)

Over the past 30 years, doctors have learned a great deal about the condition. They know what causes it, how it affects the body, and how to treat many of the complications. Today, with good health care, many people with the condition live close to normal lives and are in fairly good health much of the time. These people can live into their forties or fifties, or longer.

SOURCE: NATIONAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT, INDIA

DADA'S COMEBACK......

Maharaj Sourav Ganguly’s double ton at the third Test match against Pakistan in Bangalore on Sunday thrilled Kolkata, a city that has stood steadfast in its belief that the former captain would make an emphatic comeback in Test cricket, though age might have slowed him down in the faster version of the game.

Overjoyed fans came out on the streets, waving posters of their ‘dada’, chanting his name. After all, Ganguly’s score of 239 is his highest in Test cricket.

But what better way to celebrate any achievement if not through food. On Sunday, Ganguly’s restaurant Sourav’s The Food Pavilion, served free gulabjamun, the cricketer’s favourite sweet. There were also special discounts on every bill, the eatery’s senior floor manager Arun Kumar Daga said. The restaurant was choc-a-bloc today and the management would have decorated it if Ganguly had hit the double hundred a little faster.

The gossip on every table was about Ganguly’s two splendid partnerships in India’s first innings, one with Yuvraj Singh on Saturday where the duo put up 300 for the fifth wicket; and the other partnership on Sunday with Irfan Pathan in which the two scored 182.

However, the big celebration is yet to come. This is Ganguly’s 99th Test match. His hundredth will be later this month in Australia. Kolkata is ready to honour Ganguly’s century of Tests. Cricket Association of Bengal Joint Secretary Samar Paul said Ganguly had asked them not to arrange for any felicitation yet.

Paul said, “He wants to concentrate on his 100th Test match in Australia. Once he returns, we shall arrange something huge. We shall invite celebrities from all walks of life to this event.”



SOURCE: express india