StemCell Therapy

Before the transplant, I was in constant pain and it was always a struggle whether to stay at home or go to the emergency room, said Adeyinka Taiwo. Because it was just constant pain all the time. But now I actually have mornings when I wake up with absolutely no painIm trying my best to wean myself off of the [pain medications] and not automatically reach for the drugs that are a part of me. Its a big change, definitely.

How is your daily life different now? Fitzhugh asked.

I walked from the elevators to here and Im not out of breath, Taiwo replied, smiling and gesturing toward the Lipsett Amphitheater staircase. Three years ago, I would never have been able to move up and down these steps and have a conversation like this. I would have been out of breath and I would have had to stop many times to catch my breath, and to rest.

Her simple, heartfelt words prompted spontaneous applause.

Clinicopathologic (CPC) Grand Rounds are presented several times a year. Dr. Michail Lionakis of NIAID described the unique format of CPC talks, which bring together multiple presenters from various disciplines.

The sickle cell session was presented jointly by researchers from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Cancer Institute; National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; and the NHLBI-Inova Advanced Lung Disease Program.

Team work. Gathering after the lecture are (from l) senior investigator Dr. John Tisdale, who serves as medically responsible investigator on the sickle cell study; NIDDK director Dr. Griffin Rodgers, associate investigator; Dr. Swee Lay Thein, NHLBI senior investigator and head of the Sickle Cell Branch; assistant clinical investigator Fitzhugh, principal investigator on the study; Dr. Nargues Weir, co-director of research development at the NIH-Inova Advanced Lung Disease Program and pulmonary consultant; and staff clinician Dr. Matthew Hsieh, lead associate investigator.

Lionakis said the CPC series has two missions: One is educationalThrough presentation of interesting cases that have interesting clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic features, we all learnand the other is to showcase programs established at NIH that demonstrate the superb clinical care and translational research that occurs in the Clinical Center.

SCD is a common genetic blood disorder that affects about 100,000 people in the U.S. The disease is diagnosed in 1 of every 500 black or African-American births, and 1 in every 36,000 Hispanic-American births. The disease causes misshapensickle-shapedred blood cells, which are the oxygen-carrying cells.

Sickled cells do not circulate freely throughout the body like normally shaped cells. As a result, patients can develop any of several conditions including chronic anemia, pain, infections and failure of such vital organs as liver, lungs and heart. Average age of death for someone with SCD is 45 years old.

Excerpt from:
Can Stem Cell Transplant Relieve Sickle Cell Problems ...

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