Clinical Trials

Does your infant have a low platelet count? This study is investigating the safety and efficacy of platelet transfusion as a treatment for infants with thrombocytopenia. Researchers are looking at the positive effects of platelet transfusion against the negative effects, such as the release of inflammatory molecules and the formation of blood clots. To participate in this study, your child must be younger than 6 months old and have a low platelet count (less than 100 × 109/L). This study takes place in Boston, Massachusetts.

Does your infant have a low platelet count? This study investigates immature platelet counts as a marker for bleeding risk in newborns with thrombocytopenia, compared with platelet counts alone. Immature platelets are the most recently produced platelets and may be a better marker of platelet production. To participate in this study, you must have a newborn who is less than 32 weeks’ gestational age, has a birth weight greater than 500 grams, and has a platelet count less than 100 × 109/L. This study takes place in multiple locations in the United States, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

his trial will evaluate an oral drug discovered in a high throughput screen, which increases fetal globin protein (HbF and red blood cells expressing HbF)and messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) to high levels in anemic nonhuman primates and in transgenic mice.

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) impairs oxygen transport to tissue and causes endothelial injury. Thus, therapeutic interventions aim to improve both, but there is an unmet need for biomarkers to determine when intervention is necessary and evaluate the effectiveness of the chosen intervention in individual patients. This study proposes to monitor SCD and its treatment through their impact on cerebral hemodynamics, as the brain is one of the most vulnerable and consequential targets of the disease. Specifically, this study will optimize quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and advanced optical spectroscopy techniques such as frequency-domain near-infrared and diffuse correlation spectroscopies (FDNIRS-DCS) to monitor 1) cerebral oxygen transport with measures of cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption (CMRO2) and 2) endothelial function with cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR).

The main goal of this study is to determine whether the treatment will lead to a complete absence of severe vaso-occlusive events (VOEs) in patients with severe SCD.

Are you or your child at least 13 years old and have sickle cell disease? In this stidy, researchers are trying to find out if a new medication improves the success of a blood stem cell transplant. People 13 years old or older who are eligible for a blood stem cell transplant to treat sickle cell disease may be able to participate. Healthy family members over age 13 who are matched to transplant recipients are also needed to donate blood for the study. This study is taking place at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Are you at least 18 years old and have sickle cell disease and taking the medication Hydroxyurea? For this study, researchers testing are tool for measuring oxygen levels, blood flow, and the makeup of skin and muscle in patients with sickle cell disease. To participate in this study, you must be at least 18 years old and have sickle cell disease and also be taking the medication Hydroxyurea. This study is taking place at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Are you at least 18 years old and have sickle cell disease? People with sickle cell disease often have problems with their heart, brain, kidneys, liver, and lungs as they age. These problems may improve after transplant. Researchers in this study are trying to learn how and why this happens. To participate in this study, you must be at least 18 years old and have sickle cell disease. You must also have a history of problems with your heart, lungs, or other criteria that the study doctor will discuss with you. This study is taking place at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

The primary goal of this study is to determine whether curative therapies for individuals with SCD will result in improved or worsening heart, lung, and kidney damage when compared to individuals with SCD receiving standard therapy. The investigators will also explore whether certain genes are associated with a good or bad outcome after curative therapy for SCD.

Do you or your child have sickle cell disease and have a stem cell donor? This study is exploring how to improve bone marrow transplant procedures so the body better accepts donor stem cells. Participants in this study must be at least 4 years old. This study is located in Bethesda, Maryland.