Sickle Cell Research Program

The Sickle Cell Research Program at Children's Research Institute and the Medical College of Wisconsin is one of 11 sites funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Sickle cell research programs are a collaboration of Children's Research Institute, the Medical College, BloodCenter of Wisconsin's Blood Research Institute, and the MACC Fund.

Our researchers have studied:

• Hemolysis-induced vascular injury in sickle cell disease
• Red blood cell adhesion in sickle cell disease
• The mechanisms by which proinflammatory lipids and high-density lipoproteins function to impair vasodilation in sickle cell disease
• Cysteinyl leukotrienes receptor inhibitors as a target for decreasing sickle cell disease-related morbidity
• Pain outcomes in human sickle cell disease
• Quality of life in children with sickle cell disease

Additional multi-center clinical/translational research projects:

• Silent infarct transfusion trial
• Stroke with infarct on transfusion changing to hydroxyurea
• Arginine supplementation in sickle cell anemia
• Quality of life in children with sickle cell disease and stroke
• Outcome of children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for sickle cell disease
• Genetic heterogeneity in endothelial gene expression
• Hydroxyurea and magnesium in patients with sickle cell disease
• Pharmacokinetics of hydroxyurea in children
• A pilot study of hydroxyurea for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension in children and young adults with sickle cell disease