View clinical trials related to Sickle Cell Trait.
Filter by:Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) includes the abnormal clotting of blood in a deep vein of the upper or lower limbs (deep vein thrombosis) that may travel to and block a blood vessel in the lung (pulmonary embolism). Some people with sickle cell disease (SCD)-a red blood cell disorder-seem to be at greater risk for developing these blood clots. Researchers want to study the blood of people with SCD and VTE as well as healthy people to develop better treatments to prevent blood clots. Objective: To study blood clotting in SCD because it is the most common cause of vascular death after a heart attack or stroke. Eligibility: People ages 18-80 who have SCD (with or without a history of blood clots) or the trait for SCD, and healthy volunteers Design: Participants will be screened with medical history, physical exam, and medical records review. They will give blood samples. Participants will have phone calls either every 3 months or once a year, for 2 years. They will give updates on their health. They may give additional medical records. The phone calls may last up to 30 minutes. If participants have a VTE or pain crisis episode, they may visit the Clinical Center. These visits may last up to 4 hours. They will repeat the screening tests and give blood samples. Some participants may be invited to take part in blood studies. After 2 years, some participants will have a follow-up visit at the Clinical Center. Participation will last for about 2 years.
This research study has two purposes. The first purpose is to determine whether having sickle cell trait (SCT) is a risk factor for the development of bone thinning at an earlier age than expected. Nearly 10% of African Americans (AA) carry sickle cell trait and most of them are unaware of it. African Americans are less likely to develop thin bones than whites, but if they sustain a bone fracture, they are more likely to die from it. We believe having sickle cell trait may lead to bone thinning and predispose a subset of African Americans to dangerously thin bones. The second purpose is to try to understand why individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) have thinner bones than healthy individuals do. Doctors have already discovered that people with sickle cell disease have very thin bones, but they have not determined why. Our study will try to identify whether the bone thinning is from the body not making enough bone or from the body losing bone once it is made.