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In December 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two new gene therapies that are transformative therapies for sickle cell disease:
The yearly NHLBI Sickle Cell Disease Research Meeting is a forum for scientists and healthcare providers to learn about ongoing research in the scientific and clinical aspects of the disease. View recordings of the 3-day, 2024 meeting:
The 16th annual 2023 Sickle Cell in Focus (SCiF) conference was held in October 2023 and co-hosted by the NHLBI and the University of West Indies. View video recordings of the 2023 conference:
In December 2023, the FDA approved two therapies for some people with sickle cell disease. Everyone’s experience is different, but people treated with gene therapy tend to have less anemia, fewer health problems related to sickle cell, and better health-related quality of life. This important advance was built upon years of NHLBI-funded discoveries about the genes that cause sickle cell disease and affect disease severity and how best to perform gene therapy.
NHLBI research revealed that Black women with sickle cell disease are at very high risk of serious complications and even death. Scientists are also learning about effective treatments to help pregnant people with sickle cell disease and their babies.
Call a healthcare provider or 9-1-1 if a woman is having certain health problems during pregnancy or within 3 months after giving birth. The following symptoms need immediate medical care:
Also seek care right away if the baby’s movements stop or slow, or there is vaginal bleeding or fluid leaking.
In the United States, pregnant Black women who have sickle cell disease have a risk of dying that is 10 times higher than the risk faced by pregnant Black women who don’t have the disease. The NHLBI is leading research to reduce health disparities that raise the risk of death and serious illness for Black women in the United States, including those who live with sickle cell disease.
