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Sickle Cell Blood Test Developed

Posted on: Tuesday, 18 July 2006, 21:00 CDT

U.S. government scientists have found a hormone detected by a blood test can identify a life-threatening complication of sickle cell disease.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute researcher also found the same hormone -- brain natriuretic peptide -- is a clear predictor of death in adult sickle cell patients.

This is an important leap forward in research on sickle cell disease, said NHLBI Director Elizabeth Nabel. Having a marker in the blood that will not only help identify sickle cell patients with this deadly complication, but also predict those at the highest risk will aid in the care and treatment of these patients.

Sickle cell anemia is one of the most common genetic blood disorders in the United States. About 30 percent of sickle cell patients have pulmonary hypertension, a condition that often often leads to heart failure and it is a major risk factor for death in adults with sickle cell disease.

Currently, echocardiograms and other heart tests are used to diagnose pulmonary hypertension, but there has not been a blood test to help detect the condition.

The study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Source: United Press International

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