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Article: New hope for children with sickle cell disease.
- Article from:
- FDA Consumer
- Article date:
- March 1, 1989
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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New Hope for Children with Sickle Cell Disease
Eons ago, in Africa and other parts of the globe where malaria ran rampant among the human population, nature provided some individuals with a genetic advantage to protect them from a severe form of the disease. Thanks to a random genetic mutation of the hemoglobin molecule, the environment of red blood cells--site of invasion by the malaria microbes--was altered, making it inhospitable for growth and reproduction of the parasite, curtailing the disease and preventing further cell damage. So, the trait originally conferred protection against a life-threatening disease, enabling people to live longer and pass the ...