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summary of an article and history of sickle cell anemia

Submitted by ziweiwang on Tue, 09/10/2019 - 20:15

The paper that I read is the Effect of Acute exercise on RBC deformability and RBC Nitric Oxide Synthase Signalling Pathway in young sickle cell anemia patients. The goal of the research was to see if exercise negatively affected patients with sickle cell anemia. The key finding of the study was that there was a slight decrease in red blood cell deformability in children who have sickle cell anemia. Red Blood Cell deformability is the red blood cell’s ability to bend when squeezing through the blood vessels. However, the paper ultimately concludes that even though the RBC deformability in children in sickle blood cells was lower compared to children without sickle cell anemia, overall, exercise does not negatively impact RBC deformability in children with sickle cell anemia. The impact of the paper in sickle cell research is that it rules out the role of exercise in the factors that worsen the symptoms of sickle cell anemia. 

 

Grau, M et al Effect of acute exercise on RBC deformability and RBC nitric oxide synthase signaling pathway in young sickle cell anemia patients, Scientific Reports. 9, 2045-2322 (2019)

 
 

1910 is considered to be the year that the disease was discovered. James B Herrick noticed that in the blood of his patients that their blood cells were in the shape of a sickle, and as a result named the disease like sickle cell anemia. However, the hereditary nature of sickle cell anemia was only found out since 1949 when it was demonstrated by Dr. James Neel. Linus Pauling then discovered that the disease was due to a structural change in the hemoglobin in 1951.

 

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