Research that Benefits Children and Families

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and Sickle Cell Disease

I choose this topic because my niece has sickle cell, both her parents has the sickle cell trait.  She is now fourteen years old, due to the numerous times my niece has had to stay in the hospital because of this disease my sister recently participated in a trial duty that has resulted in a prescribed drug that has helped reduced the amount of crisis that she’s had within the last several years. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has researched sickle cell disease since its founding as the National Heart Institute in 1948. NHLBI has spent more than $1 billion researching the condition.

Sickle cell disease is inherited. People who have the disease inherit two copies of the sickle globin gene—one from each parent. The gene codes for production of an abnormal hemoglobin. Persons affected with this condition produce abnormal red blood cells containing hemoglobin S instead of normal hemoglobin A. When red cells with Hemoglobin S lose their oxygen, they become distorted and shaped like crescents or sickles. These cells are sticky and can block blood vessels, leading to organ damage, and severe episodes of pain known as crises.  Sickle cell disease causes life-long anemia.  Persons with sickle cell disease are at risk of pneumonia, bone infections, and other infections.

Sickle cell disease lowers quality of life for thousands of American families.  The genetic blood disorder affects 70,000–100,000 Americans, the majority of whom are African American or Hispanic. Sickle cell disease is most common in people whose families come from Africa, South or Central America, Caribbean islands, Mediterranean countries, India, and Saudi Arabia.  Sickle cell disease occurs in approximately one out of every 500 African American births and one out of every 36,000 Hispanic American births.  About 2.5 million people in the United States have sickle cell trait, which occurs when a person inherits one copy of the globin gene.

Bone marrow transplants offer a cure for sickle cell disease for some patients, but due to a scarcity of matched donors, it is not a cure for everyone. Researchers are working on ways to make this cure more widely available.

Research has helped patients live longer. In the 1970s, life expectancy for individuals with sickle cell disease was about 14 years. Today, many individuals live into their 40s and longer. Antibiotics to prevent and treat infections have reduced childhood deaths from the disease by more than 80 percent. A blood screening test done on newborns is now performed in all U.S. Research on the condition has advanced other areas of medicine including genetics and molecular biology.  The NHLBI is supporting research on more and better treatments to ease the burden of sickle cell disease on those affected. Current research is exploring ways to reduce the risks of serious complications, including stroke, hypertension, respiratory problems, and vulnerability to overwhelming bacterial infections.

To find out more about this disease log onto http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sca/

 

My Personal Research Journey

The topic I chose for my research simulation is “Diversity in Early Childhood Education”.

The current changing demographics in the United States presents several challenges for early childhood professionals and the need for high-quality preschool programs, especially for young children whose first language isn’t English increases the need for highly qualified teachers and teachers of English language learners in order to help bridge the gap among immigrant children, their families and other ethnic groups. The faces in our classroom are changing, and many of our children are born in other countries, speak different languages and brings their families unique cultural traditions into the classroom and we as educators must embrace these different cultures and look at it as a learning experience for both student and teacher.