Measuring blood flow to monitor sickle cell disease
More than 60 years ago, scientists discovered the underlying cause of sickle cell disease: People with the disorder produce crescent-shaped red blood cells that clog capillaries instead of flowing smoothly, like ordinary, disc-shaped red blood cells do. This can cause severe pain, major organ damage and a significantly shortened lifespan.Researchers later found that the disease results from a single mutation in the hemoglobin protein, and realized that the sickle shape — seen more often in people from tropical climates — is actually an evolutionary adaptation that can help protect against malaria. However, despite everything scientists have learned about the disease, which affects 13 million people worldwide, there are few treatments available. “We still don’t have effective enough therapies and we don’t have a good feel for how the disease manifests itself differently in different people,” says Sangeeta Bhatia, the John and Dorothy Wilson Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and...