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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffSickle cell anemia is an inherited form of anemia — a condition in which there aren't enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen throughout your body.
Normally, your red blood cells are flexible and round, moving easily through your blood vessels. In sickle cell anemia, the red blood cells become rigid, sticky and are shaped like sickles or crescent moons. These irregularly shaped cells can get stuck in small blood vessels, which can slow or block blood flow and oxygen to parts of the body.
There's no cure for most people with sickle cell anemia. However, treatments can relieve pain and help prevent further problems associated with sickle cell anemia.
- Sickle cell anemia. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Sca/SCA_All.html. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
- Sickle cell disease. Genetics Home Reference. http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=sicklecelldisease. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
- Sickle cell anemia. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec11/ch131/ch131i.html#sec11-ch131-ch131i-238. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
- Rodgers GP. Specific therapies for sickle cell disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
- Exjade (prescribing information). East Hanover, N.J.: Novartis; 2008
- Reproductive genetic testing. National Human Genome Research Institute. http://www.genome.gov/10004766. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
