Sickle Cell Disease Clinical Trials

The Investigators hypothesize that older red cell units trigger phagocytosis and activation of circulating macrophages with a downstream immunomodulatory cascade and release of excess Non Transferrin Bound Iron(NTBI) that leads to increased rates of infection in adults with Sickle Cell Disease(SCD). To test this hypothesis, the study staff will perform a randomized prospective clinical trial. In aim 1, the study staff will determine the biochemical differences between ≥30 day-old versus ≤10 day-old units. In aim 2, the study staff will determine the physiologic effects of the transfused blood in a patient with SCD. Lastly, in aim 3, the study staff will explore the clinical implications of receiving older red cells over a 3 month period. Read Less

A randomized control trial in 20 subjects with sickle cell disease comparing oral THU-decitabine to nicotinamide and in combination (THU, decitabine and nicotinamide). Read Less

Hydroxyurea Optimization through Precision Study (HOPS) is a prospective, multi-center, randomized trial that will directly compare a novel, individualized dosing strategy of hydroxyurea to standard weight-based dosing for children with SCA. The primary objective of the study is to evaluate whether a pharmacokinetics-based starting hydroxyurea dose thieves superior fetal hemoglobin response to to standard weight-based initial dosing. Patients will be recruited from the pediatric sickle cell clinic at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and from additional pediatric sickle cell centers within the United States. Read Less

In this prospective, single-arm, open-label, imaging and treatment study, the investigator will test the hypothesis that crizanlizumab will prevent the progression of silent cerebral infarcts in patients with sickle cell disease. Study participants will undergo brain MRI before initiation of crizanlizumab and at 6 and 30 months after starting crizanlizumab infusions. The crizanlizumab cohort will be compared to a matched, observational cohort of patients not receiving crizanlizumab. Read Less

The purpose of this research study is to better understand how blood flow and metabolism change can influence brain development in the early decades of life. We will examine brain blood flow and metabolism using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The brain's blood vessels expand and constrict to regulate blood flow based on the brain's needs. The amount of expanding and contracting the blood vessels can do varies by age. The brain's blood flow changes in small ways during everyday activities, such as normal brain growth, exercise, or deep concentration. Significant illness or psychological stress may increase the brain's metabolic demand or cause other bigger changes in blood flow. If blood vessels are not able to expand to give more blood flow when metabolic demand is high, the brain may not get all of the oxygen it needs. In extreme circumstances, if the brain is unable to get enough oxygen for a long time, a stroke may occur. Sometimes small strokes occur without other noticeable changes and are only detectable on an MRI. These are sometimes called "silent strokes." In less extreme circumstances, not having as much oxygen as it wants may cause the brain to grow and develop more slowly than it should. One way to test the ability of blood vessels to expand is by measuring blood flow while breathing in carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide causes blood vessels in the brain to dilate without increasing brain metabolism. During this study participants may be asked to undergo a blood draw, MRI, and potential neuropsychological assessments. It is also possible that the study team will use a special mask to control the amount of carbon dioxide the participants breathe in so they don't breathe in too much. Read Less

This will be a multistate, multicenter clinical study to determine the efficacy and safety of medical cannabis for a wide variety of chronic medical conditions. Read Less

This multisite prospective study seeks to determine if HLA-identical sibling donor transplantation using alemtuzumab, low dose total-body irradiation, and sirolimus (Sickle transplant Using a Nonmyeloablative approach, "SUN") can decrease the toxicity of transplant while achieving a high cure rate for children with sickle cell disease (SCD). Read Less