sickle cell anemia

Definition of sickle cell anemia

: a chronic inherited anemia that occurs primarily in individuals of African, Mediterranean, or southwest Asian ancestry who are homozygous for the gene controlling hemoglobin S and that is characterized especially by episodic blocking of small blood vessels by sickle cells

— called also sickle cell disease

Examples of sickle cell anemia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Gene editing has been hailed for its potential to help treat diseases like cancer and sickle cell anemia. — Sy Mukherjee, Fortune, "Chinese Doctor Who Created Gene-Edited Embryos Is Sentenced to Three Years in Prison," 30 Dec. 2019 The 21-year-old had been born with sickle cell anemia, a genetic mutation that causes red blood cells to become rigid and pointy. — BostonGlobe.com, "1. Reconnecting ACL tears," 28 Sep. 2019 Better Days was inspired by parties her mother Sandra Bush, a former fashion model, threw with friends to raise funds for sickle cell anemia research. — Carol Vogel, Town & Country, "The Rise and Rise of Mickalene Thomas," 3 Dec. 2019 These include potential treatments for sickle cell anemia and Niemann-Pick disease, a lethal metabolic disorder. — Jocelyn Kaiser, Science | AAAS, "Seven years later, NIH center that aims to speed drugs to market faces challenges," 25 Sep. 2019 In October, researchers from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard published details of a new gene-editing technology that could potentially correct up to 89% of genetic defects, including those that cause diseases like sickle cell anemia. — Jack Guy, CNN, "'Designer babies' could be just two years away, expert claims," 19 Nov. 2019 As one of the many benefits of that outreach, Lattimer said Lerner helped establish sickle cell anemia testing in the schools. — Graydon Megan, chicagotribune.com, "Dr. Herbert Lerner, Hyde Park pediatrician active in civil rights and health care issues, dies at 95," 2 Oct. 2019 There was the time a student with sickle cell anemia approached him in 2017 upset about news that the government was making cuts to the National Institutes of Health. — Perry Stein, Washington Post, "This D.C. teacher of the year just won $7,500. He’s giving it back to his students.," 8 Nov. 2019 Working to solve sickle cell anemia Manny Johnson Jr. needed a change. — BostonGlobe.com, "1. Reconnecting ACL tears," 28 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sickle cell anemia.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

12 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Sickle cell anemia.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sickle%20cell%20anemia. Accessed 25 January 2020.

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More Definitions for sickle cell anemia

sickle cell anemia

noun

variants: also sickle cell disease

Medical Definition of sickle cell anemia

: a chronic anemia that occurs in individuals (as those of African or Mediterranean descent) who are homozygous for the gene controlling hemoglobin S and that is characterized by destruction of red blood cells and by episodic blocking of blood vessels by the adherence of sickle cells to the vascular endothelium which causes the serious complications of the disease (as organ failure)