| ||
| Vol. 23, No. 23 |
| December 15, 2001 |
|
New Center Seeks Improved Treatments and Cure for Sickle Cell Disease A new, comprehensive research and treatment center at Baylor College of Medicine seeks to develop new treatments for sickle cell disease and offers additional hope to patients who suffer from this disabling blood disorder. The Baylor College of Medicine Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center brings together researchers and physicians focused on unlocking the mysteries of the medical complications caused by this disease, with the goal of improving the treatment available to patients of all ages. Benefiting from this new approach will be pediatric patients at Texas Children’s Sickle Cell Center and adult patients at Harris-Ben Taub General Hospital, The Methodist Hospital and St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital. "With the creation of this comprehensive center, we will be able to treat patients from infancy through adulthood, providing a smooth transition in their care," said Dr. David G. Poplack, co-director of the center and chief of hematology and oncology at Texas Children’s Hospital. "A comprehensive care approach enables us to reduce the psychological trauma of changing doctors when children move to adult care, and permits us to expand our level of care for children and adults with sickle cell disease," said Dr. Brigitta U. Mueller, director of Texas Children’s Sickle Cell Center and associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor. In the past, sickle cell patients did not live to adulthood. Now, with screening at birth, improved health care and new medications and treatments, life expectancy has increased to about 45 years. The new approach expands sickle cell research across all disciplines, bringing together molecular biologists, cell biologists, hematologists, pediatricians and internists. Scientists in the center are working to gain a better understanding of the many different problems associated with sickle cell disease, hoping to move beyond the treatment of symptoms to ultimately curing this disease. "Until now, physicians have had little to offer patients beyond intervention for pain," said Dr. Josef T. Prchal, center co-director and professor of medicine at Baylor. "Our goal is to identify new treatments for the disease." A variety of new treatments are under study, including the use of adult stem cells, "mini" bone marrow transplants, and several promising new drug therapies. "The study of sickle cell disease has changed significantly over the last several years," said Dr. Mark Udden, director of adult clinical services for the center and associate professor of medicine at Baylor. "Our approach is to carefully study the disease in the laboratory and rapidly adapt our research advances into new therapies for patients afflicted with this disease." The center will work closely with a variety of community and state resources to improve the care for affected patients, including the Sickle Cell Association of the Texas Gulf Coast, Houston Independent School District and surrounding districts, Kiwanis Club of Houston and Let the Fashion Begin. More than 70,000 Americans have sickle cell disease, an inherited condition in which red blood cells have a "sickle" shape that causes them to get stuck in the vessels. The result can be debilitating pain and an increased chance of stroke or organ damage. The disease affects one in every 400 African-Americans and one in every 1,200 Hispanic Americans.
©1996-2002 Texas Medical Center
E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu
|