Editorial—"Asymptomatic Sickle" Cell Trait

Sickle cell trait.

Sickle cell trait can pose a grave risk for some athletes. In the past few years, exertional sickling has killed nine athletes, including five college football players in training. Exercise-physiology research shows how and why sickle red cells can accumulate in the bloodstream during intense exercise bouts. Sickle cells can "logjam" blood vessels and lead to collapse from ischemic rhabdomyolys...

Sickle cell trait and frostbite.

Pre-marriage Sickle Cell Screening Program in South Region of Iran, A Pilot Study on 50 Cases of Sickle Trait

Background: Studies have demonstrated that sickle cell trait can be found in an asymptomatic healthy carrier with normal complete blood count (CBC) and red blood cell (RBC) indices. According to Iranian Ministry of Health bulletin instructions, prenuptial Thalassemia Screening Program (TSP) primarily depends on RBC indices which are measured through a routine CBC. Only when these levels are bel...

Burkitt's lymphoma and sickle cell trait.

ONLY two areas of the world, tropical Africa and New Guinea, are endemic for Burkitt's lymphoma. These are the principal areas of the world where malaria still occurs in hyperand holo-endemic forms, and within these two areas the geographical distribution of the tumour coincides closely with that ofendemic malaria. These observations suggest the possibility of a causal connection between chroni...

How benign is sickle cell trait?

The complications of sickle cell disease (SCD) arise from the presence in red cells of the mutated haemoglobin, HbS, which replaces the normal adult Hb,HbA. HbS has a single amino acid substitutionwhereby valine replaces glutamic acid in the 6th codon of the β chain. Most SCD patients inherit two copies of the sickle gene (homozygous HbSS individuals sometimes termed sickle cell anaemia, SCA). ...