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Sickle cell trait should have no problems and should have a normal life expectancy
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∙ 12y ago
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How will flying to a higher altitude such as Colorado affect a two year old with sickle cell trait?
There is no quick, easy answer. Flying in a pressurized aircraft should not pose a problem. Neither should visiting Colorado. There is a Sickle Cell treatment center in Denver, and many people with Sickle Cell Disease and Sickle Cell trait live and work in that area. However everyone is different, and trait and disease affect everyone differently. In general travel to Colorado for a two-year-old with sickle cell trait should not present any sickle cell related health care issues.
Why should couples that are ready to have a baby be tested for sickle cell trait?
Black couples should be tested, because about 1 in 12 black Americans carry sickle-cell trait. A person with sickle-cell trait has a 50/50 chance of passing it to their offspring. If both parents have sickle-cell trait, then there's a 1 in 4 chance their child could wind up with full-blown sickle cell anemia, which is associated with a significantly reduced life expectancy (maybe 50 years vs. 70-ish for those without it). The trait is also reasonably common among Hispanics, where about 1 in 100 are carriers. Northern Europeans ... not so much. It turns out that sickle-cell trait is actually a good thing to have if you live where there's a lot of malaria; it makes you be less affected by the disease. Not a lot of malaria in northern Europe, so people whose ancestors are from there don't tend to carry the trait.
Top 10 questions asked about sickle cell?
What is sickle cell disease?Sickle cell disease is an inherited disorder that affects red blood cells. People with sickle cell disease have red blood cells that become hard and pointed instead of soft and round. Sickle cells cause anemia, pain and many other problems.Top2) What is sickle cell trait?If you have sickle cell trait, you have inherited the gene for sickle cell disease. Sickle cell trait does not turn into sickle cell disease. If someone has sickle cell trait and his partner has sickle cell trait they may produce a child with sickle cell disease. There are about 2.5 million people in America with sickle cell trait.Top3) If sickle cell trait is not an illness, why are people tested?Babies are tested to see if they have sickle cell disease. Teens and adults are tested mainly to see if they can have a baby with the disease.Top4) What medical problems are caused by sickle cell disease?Lung tissue damage, pain episodes and stroke. The blockage of blood flow caused by sickled cells also causes damage to most organs including the spleen, kidneys and liver.Top5) How many people have sickle cell disease?Sickle cell disease is a global health problem. In the United States it is estimated that over 70,000 people have sickle cell disease. About 1,000 babies are born with the disease each year in America.Top6) How long does a person with sickle cell disease live?The average life expectancy in America has improved. It is now in the mid 40 years of age range.Top7) Are people of African descent the only group affected?No. It is also present in Portuguese, Spanish, French Corsicans, Sardinians, Sicilians, mainland Italians, Greeks, Turks and Cypriots. Sickle cell disease also appears in Middle Eastern countries and Asia.Top8) Is there a cure?There is no universal cure for sickle cell disease. Research in gene therapy, the ultimate universal cure, is currently underway.Top9) What are some promising treatment developments?The use of hydroxyurea has shown promising results on some adult sickle cell patients. It reduces the frequency of severe pain, acute chest syndrome and the need for blood transfusions.Top10) Can people with sickle cell disease live a productive life?Yes. But like all patients with chronic disease, sickle cell patients are best managed in a comprehensive multi-disciplinary program of care and a strong extended support system.
Do primates have sickle cell anemia?
That is very interesting question, indeed. Your concern for the primates needs appreciation. The answer to this question is probably positive. Sickle cell anaemia is a natural selection in malaria endemic zone. The sickle cell trait patient is genetically resistant to malarial fever. So many primates suffer from malarial fever. From this finding you can say that sickle cell anaemia should be present in primates, who live in tropical countries.
Why sickle cell anemia resistance malaria?
Sickle cell anemia comes as the result of having two sickle cell chromosomes. One sickle cell chromosome makes people resistant to malaria. Unfortunately when people have two sickle cell chromosomes they can get sickle cell anemia. That makes it difficult for their blood to carry oxygen and under certain conditions makes their blood clump. The disease can be deadly. Drugs can help. It probably makes that person resistant to malaria. The sickle cell trait evolved in various places around the world where malaria is common such as Africa and Greece.
Can you still be alive at age 14-15 with sickle cell anemia?
Yes you can live to 14-15 years old with sickle cell anemia. Actually you can live about into your 50-60's!
What are people with sickle cell resistant to?
Sickle cell anemia provides resistance to malaria - it is ideal for many people in Africa that live in mosquito rampant areas.
How many years should you live with sickle cell disease?
I had a friend who live 25yrs wit it
What are facts about sickle cell anemia?
· Not like the normal red blood cells, which can live for 120 days, sickle-shaped cells live only 10 to 20 days· About 1 out of every 500 African-American babies born in the United States has sickle cell anemia· Sickle cell disease, red blood cells start out normal, but if they are stressed they become curved, hard, and sticky
Why has sickle cell anemia been maintained in the human population?
Sickle-Cell AnaemiaSickle cell anemia is a disease that is controlled by alleles S and s .three possible combinations are SS , Ss ans ss . The most important reason why this allele is present in whole world including America is heterozygous superiority which keeps this gene in population Several major Universities whose main function is Technology, along with the Medical Schools associated with teaching in the Children's Hospitals have begun joining forces using nanotechnology to alter the genetics of the sickle cell trait. Among them is a collaborative effort between GA Institute of Technology, Emory University Medical School, and Children's Health Care Systems of Atlanta. Once this is accomplished, plans are already in the works to move on to another deadly disease initiated with inherited genes: Cystic Fibrosis. This is an excellent collaborative use of each genre's best abilities: cooperation vs competition.I earlier times this may have been negatively associated with eugenics, however that connotation is now being transformed with the positive aspects of actually changing genetics at the microcellular level to rid populations of certain killer traits, rather than attempts at 'perfecting the human race,' as in the despicable times of Hitler. This is not a genocidal experiment, but one aimed at saving lives of painful and deathly diseases, remembering sickle cell trait is mostly among Blacks.To get a clearer picture of why the allele is still present, just remember what the Hardy-Weinberg principle predicts:both allele and genotype frequencies in a population remain constant; that is, they are in equilibrium from generation to generation unless specific disturbing influences are introduced. Those disturbing influences include non random mating, mutations, selection, limited population size, "overlapping generations," random genetic drift, gene flow and meiotic drive.Since the homozygous recessive (when the Anaemia is actually expressed) and heterozygous condition do not affect mating probabilities, the allele will naturally remain within the population.
What is the common name for sickle cell anemia?
It is a genetic disorder. However... It is also a protection against malaria. For example, if a person were born in an area where malaria is present, he or she would likely die from the disease, unless he or she inherited 1 sickle cell gene. Malaria viruses reproduce in the red blood cells. The parent virus invades a cell, and uses the cell as a host to grow more viruses. With 1 sickle cell gene, malaria viruses that invade a red cell are quickly destroyed, since the red cell collapses, preventing the virus from reproducing. But with 2 sickle cell genes, red cells collapse too easily; just a bruise can cause someone to become anemic when too many red cells collapse. In the real world, people with no sickle cell genes died from malaria. People with 1 sickle cell gene survived. People with 2 sickle cell genes died from sickle cell anemia. It was natures way of assuring that at least half of the population survive, but it is certainly a difficult thing to live with today, now that we can more easily treat malaria.
Why is sickle cell prevalent in Africa?
In haemoglobin, there are four polypeptide chains that make it's structure, 2 (A) chains and 2 (B) chains. Sickle-Cell Anemia is caused by a mutation the (B) chain that makes the haemoglobin molecules stick to each other and form fibres inside the red blood cell (RBC). Instead of a circular disc shaped RBC we now have a sickle shaped cell. This means transport of oxygen is very innefficient and the disease can cause death. However, in areas with a high malaria rate, heterozygous sickle-cell anaemics (with some sickle shaped AND normal RBCs) are naturally selected because the protozoan (what causes the disease) is unable to live inside the red blood cell due to the fibres formed from the mutation, the cells are more fragile and they have a shorter life span than normal RBCs. This means that people with heterozygous alleles for sickle-cell anaemia benefit against malaria and will survive to reproduce, which increases the allele frequency of the sickle-cell anaemia allele. Those with homozygous sickle-cell anaemia and those with homozygous normal haemoglobin are selected against as the first usually die of the sickle-cell anaemia, and the latter contract malaria. NB. Mutations are rare occurrences. It is even rarer for a mutation to give selective advantage. This mutation for sickle-cell anaemia did not happen to 'cure' or prevent malaria, it was a random occurrence that coincidentally gave a selective advantage against malaria.
