SLU Researchers Study Therapy to Relieve Sickle Cell Pain

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Newswise ST. LOUIS -- Saint Louis University researchers are studying whether ReoPro (abciximab), a drug currently given to heart patients undergoing angioplasties to open blocked arteries, also could help children and young adults who have severe pain from sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell crises, which are acute episodes that can land patients in the hospital, can be excruciatingly painful, said William Ferguson, M.D., director of the division of pediatric hematology and oncology at Saint Louis University and a SLUCare pediatrician at SSM Cardinal Glennon Childrens Medical Center.

The typical vaso-occlusive crisis puts patients in the hospital for three to five days on intravenous medications. All we can do is give supportive care, such as pain killers, and wait for the crisis to run its course. Our research will tell us if using a medicine like ReoPro could be a valuable strategy in treating a sickle cell crisis.

Sickle cell crises occur when clots form in the small blood vessels, preventing blood from flowing freely to organs. Healthy red blood cells are shaped like flexible donuts and can fold to easily wiggle through the smallest blood vessels. Red blood cells in patients who have sickle cell disease are misshaped, crescent-like cells with sharp edges that get caught inside blood vessel walls and pile up to create blockages.

Much like an accident that impedes traffic on the road where it happened and on secondary feeder roads, sickle cell crises cause a second blood vessel blockage when red blood cells and platelets (small blood cells that stop bleeding) stick to the lining of the blood vessel walls.

Its like theres a traffic accident and a quarter mile down the road, you slow down again. Right now, we dont have anything that directly targets that secondary blockage, Ferguson said. These traffic pile ups can decrease blood flow and can damage the organ on the other side, such as the spleen, eyes or lungs.

Ferguson, who is the study chair, said the research could represent a new approach to treating sickle cell crisis. He is leading a study that examines whether or not ReoPro could reduce the length of time patients who are having a sickle cell pain crisis spend in the hospital.

As far as I know, no one has targeted the increased stickiness of both platelets and red blood cells in the context of a crisis, Ferguson said. We hope our research will tell us more about treating the disease and potentially open an avenue of research and drug development.

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SLU Researchers Study Therapy to Relieve Sickle Cell Pain