All About Black Health
Selected Quote: "We
are highly committed to reducing the disparities that exist among
African Americans, but we realize we cannot do it alone,"said
Kevin Fenton, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the CDC's National Center for
HIV, STD, and TB Prevention at a meeting of more than 100
African-American leaders held in Atlanta on March 7-8 2007 in Atlanta.
Mini Poll as of 8/16/06:
"Today, AIDS in
America is a Black disease," said Phill Wilson, executive director of
the Black AIDS Institute, at the 16th International AIDS conference held
in Toronto, Canada. Do you agree with that? To vote clickHere.
For All
About Black Health 'Calendar of Events',
Click
Here
ALL ABOUT BLACK
HEALTH ™
ALL ABOUT BLACK HEALTH
™
QUESTION FROM A SITE VISITOR
Dear Sir : I am writing a paper on Sickle Cell Anemia for my
Biology class. I can not find the person who discovered sickle cell? Can
you let me know? My report is due on Thursday (1-25-01). Thank you in advance
for assisting me in this matter.
Our answer:
Thank you for your question: Who discovered the sickle cell anemia?
The name of Max F. Perutz (born In Austria), Nobel Prize winner, comes to mind when sickle cell anemia is talked about. He worked in Great Britain, and while working on the pigment element of red cells called hemoglobin, he discovered that the molecule's change of the hemoglobin provoked the distortion of the red cell that sets the stage for the disease.
A distortion (sickle's shape) that decreases the oxygen carrying capacity of the red cell.
I hope our answer is helpful to you.
Dr. CG
A VISITOR'S QUESTION ABOUT SICKLE CELL
DISEASE
Sickle cell information? Daily treatment for sickle cell
(if any) such as daily medications prescribed? What to do when someone is
in sickle cell crises? Thanks!
Our
Response:
Thank you for your email requesting information on sickle cell
disease.
As you probably know, sickle cell disease is chronic.
This condition necessitates constant care. Patients with low blood
count should be taking vitamins and other substances like folic acid
almost all the time.
They should watch for infections or other acute diseases that
can exacerbate the problem. They should, for example receive flu
shots during the flu season and some doctors would even advise them to take pneumococcal
vaccine to prevent pneumonia.
People with the sickle cell condition should drink plenty
of fluids especially when they are in crisis.
When someone is in crisis, depending on the severity, all
efforts should be taken to avoid aggravation of the problem.
Pain medication, along with fluids, should be taken. Sometimes
hospitalization may be required, therefore it's always good to check with
your physician if you believe you are in crisis so the appropriate
treatment of the condition can be provided.
Genetic counseling has been advocated to people in childbearing
age so decision about pregnancy can be made appropriately.
People with the sickle cell trait are usually free
of symptoms except for some extraordinary circumstances such as fatigue, or
low oxygen in the blood that might cause a problem.
If you need to know more about the disease please use the
search box of www.Allaboutblackhealth.com
found on the Home page or the General Health page. We are sure that you
will find more detailed information, support groups and resources for someone
with the sickle cell disease.
