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Provide an essay for this summary: Sickle cell anemia is a disorder of the blood that affects the synthesis of red blood cells. Genetic changes in hemoglobin gene is the causes of sickle cell anemia. The shape of red blood cells changes from the normal biconcave shape to the abnormal crescent moon shape. The change in the shape of red blood cells affects their functions of transporting oxygen in the blood vessels. Start with the sentence '#Sickle Cell Anemia: Causes and Treatment Presentation
Description of Sickle Cell Anemia
 * Sickle cell anemia is a disorder of the blood that affects the synthesis of red blood cells'.
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#Sickle Cell Anemia: Causes and Treatment Presentation
Description of Sickle Cell Anemia
 * Sickle cell anemia is a disorder of the blood that affects the synthesis of red blood cells.
 * Genetic changes in hemoglobin gene is the causes of sickle cell anemia (Sahoo, 2020).
 * The shape of red blood cells changes from the normal biconcave shape to the abnormal crescent moon shape.
 * The change in the shape of red blood cells affects their functions of transporting oxygen in the blood vessels.
 * Sickle-shaped red blood cells have a reduced capacity to carry oxygen and experience inflexible and sticky movement in the blood vessels (Yuruva et al., 2020).
 * As a genetic disorder, sickle cell anemia manifests at the age of six months and gets worse with age, resulting in reduced life expectancy to 40 to 60 years.
 * Treatments and management interventions improve the life span of individuals with sickle cell anemia.
Population Affected Sickle Cell Anemia
 * Across the world, sickle cell anemia is prevalent among babies, children and young adults in most countries.
 * The proportions babies with sickle cell anemia is similar in males (50%) and females (50%) since the mutation occurs in somatic genes.
 * The average age of diagnosis is 2 years for males and 4 years for females (Ceglie et al., 2019).
 * More males experience severe crisis (68%) than females (32%) due to hormonal differences.
 * The mean age of deaths of females (48 years) is higher than that of males (42 years) (Ceglie et al., 2019).
 * The mortality rates varies across the age as 68% (0-3 years), 39% (4-9 years), and 24% (10-14 years) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020).
 * With poor treatment and management interventions, 50%-90% of children die before they attain the age of five (1-5 years).
 * Globally, about 300,000 cases of sickle cell anemia among babies occur with 80% of them being Africans (Cisneros & Thein, 2020).
 * In the United States, the healthcare system registers 100,000 cases of babies with sickle cell anemia, with major occurrences among African Americans (0.3%) followed by American Hispanics (0.006%), while Asians and Indians have minimal proportions of less than 0.001% (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020).
 * About 8% of African-American babies have sickle cell trait (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020).
 * In Africa, the prevalence of sickle cell trait among babies is between 10% and 45%, with the highest rates in Nigeria of the disease (2-3%).
 * The analysis of the distribution shows that sickle cell anemia is common in tropical regions, such as Middle East, sub-Saharan, and Asia, where malaria is endemic.
 * Projections indicate that migration would increase the prevalence of sickle cell anemia to about 14 million cases by 2050.
 * People who live in malaria endemic regions are susceptible to sickle cell anemia because homozygous trait do not have adaptive advantage.
Causes of Sickle Cell Anemia
 * A genetic change is the cause of sickle cell anemia among individuals. A single nucleotide substitution that changes the codon from GAG to GUG at the sixth position causes sickle cell anemia (Sahoo, 2020).
 * This form of substitution arises on the coding sequence of the beta-hemoglobin chain situated in the short arm of chromosome 11.
 * The resulting change in an amino acid is the substitution of glutamate in the acidic class, with valine in the aliphatic class (E6V).
 * The coded protein by the mutated gene polymerizes and triggers changes in red blood cell shape from a biconcave into a crescent conformation (Cisneros & Thein, 2020).
 * The inheritance of the mutant gene from parents follows the autosomal recessive pattern.
Signs and Symptoms of Sickle Cell Anemia
 * Signs and symptoms of sickle cell anemia become evident during childhood and present diverse acute and chronic problems, which vary from one person to another.
 * Sickle cell crisis characterized by acute anemia is one of the major signs and symptoms of sickle cell anemia.
 * A vaso-occlusive crisis occurs due to obstruction of capillaries, resulting in pain, necrosis, and ischemia (Meier et al., 2018).
 * Splenomegaly originates from the sequestration of red blood cells in the spleen and obstructed capillaries. Fever, chest pain, and pulmonary infiltrate contribute to acute chest syndrome (Sahoo, 2020).
 * Fatigue, high heart rate, and pallor stem from aplastic crisis and anemic conditions, which affects uptake and distribution of oxygen in tissues
 * Ultimately, a hemolytic crisis happens due to the affected synthesis of red blood cells.
Body Parts Affected by Sickle Cell Anemia
 * The primary part of the body affected by sickle cell anemia is the blood tissue, particularly the red blood cells.
 * Since red blood cells play a key role in the transportation of oxygen in the body, sickle cell anemia reduces the capacity and respiration rate in tissues (Sahoo, 2020).
 * Sickle cell anemia also affects the efficiency of the circulatory system due to the obstruction and slow flow of blood in the body by the abnormal cells.
 * Since ischemic stroke is one of the consequences of sickle cell anemia, it stems from obstructed supply of blood to the brain (Yuruva et al., 2020).
 * A restricted circulation of blood resists the lungs and causes pulmonary hypertension.
 * Liver and spleen are affected due to sequestration of red blood cells and hemolytic crisis in the metabolic processes.
What is Used to Diagnose Sickle Cell Anemia
 * Numerous methods are effective in the diagnosis of sickle cell anemia among individuals across ages.
 * A complete blood count checks the level of hemoglobin if lower than the normal level (Sahoo, 2020).
 * Moreover, this method also evaluates if reticulocytes are higher than normal threshold.
 * Sickle solubility test using sodium metabisulfite to differentiate hemoglobin S from A by the formation of a precipitate due to polymerization of sickle-shaped red blood cells (Meier et al., 2018).
 * High-performance liquid chromatography identifies different forms of hemoglobin, such as A, F, S, C, D, and E (Sahoo, 2020).
 * Hemoglobin electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing are two methods commonly used to diagnose sickle cell anemia (Sahoo 2).
 * Genetic screening to establish the existence of mutation in the hemoglobin gene is done on a fetus, baby, or adult (Yuruva et al., 2020).
How Diagnosis is Made
 * The procedure of diagnosis varies according to the sample used and the age of individuals.
 * For unborn babies, genetic screening is effective in the diagnosis of sickle cell anemia because it identifies mutations (Meier et al., 2018).
 * A doctor removes a sample of amniotic fluid from a pregnant woman and uses it in genetic screening.
 * The procedure entails the isolation of genomic DNA, amplification of the hemoglobin gene, and sequencing to identify substitution at the sixth codon position (Sahoo, 2020).
 * In adults, a sample of blood is subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography.
 * High-performance liquid chromatography differentiates different forms of hemoglobin in red blood cells (Sahoo, 2020).
 * The analysis of chromatogram peaks would reveal the type of hemoglobin in blood.
 * Red blood cells with sickle cell anemia would show a chromatogram peak of hemoglobin S.
Treatment for Sickle Cell Anemia
 * Chemotherapy is one of the effective treatments of sickle cell anemia.
 * Some medications are folic acid to boost hemoglobin level, analgesics to relieve pain, penicillin to prevent pneumonia, and malaria prophylaxis to reduce susceptibility (Provenzano et al., 2018).
 * Patients with chronic symptoms require administration of hydroxyurea to stimulate fetal hemoglobin and prevent vaso-occlusive crisis (Sahoo, 2020).
 * Blood transfusion is necessary to increase hemoglobin level in severe anemia, prevent stroke, and alleviate acute chest syndrome (Provenzano et al., 2018).
 * Gene therapy using CRISPR-Cas9, gamma-globin gene transfer, lentivirus short hairpin RNA, lentiglobin bb305, and bone marrow transplant are effective in the modification of hemoglobin genotypes to correct the target mutation (Cisneros & Thein, 2020).
Interesting Facts: Prognosis
 * The efficacy of treatment varies from one person to another and according to treatment and management interventions.
 * Approximately 90% of people with sickle cell anemia attain the age of 20 years (Meier et al., 2018).
 * Moreover, over 50% of patients survive beyond 50 years when provided with appropriate treatment (Provenzano et al., 2018).
 * The expected life span of people with sickle cell anemia is between 40 and 60 years (Yaruva et al., 2020).
 * However, advancements in treatments, such as gene editing and bone marrow transplantation, offer a promising cure for sickle cell anemia.
Historic Importance of Sickle Cell Anemia
 * The history of sickle cell anemia dates back to 1910 when doctors discovered it in the United States and Africa and abbreviated it as SCD.
 * Ernest Edwards Irons observed red blood cells and become the first person to describe them as having sickle-shaped cells (Yuruva et al., 2020).
 * In 1952, doctors in India discovered it among people who lived in the Deccan plateau (Yuruva et al., 2020).
 * In the late 21st century, the prevalence of sickle cell anemia was high among African Americans with a mortality rate of 1.5%.
 * Sickle cell anemia was prevalent in tropical regions, namely, the Mediterranean region, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle Eastern region, and India, where malaria was endemic due to adaptive advantages (Cisneros & Thein, 2020).