Cuttack hospital likely to be a one-stop centre for sickle cell anaemia treatment
- December 1, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Cuttack hospital likely to be a one-stop centre for sickle cell anaemia treatment
Sub: Sci
Sec : Health
Context:
- A team from UNICEF visited the Haematology Department at SCB Medical College, Cuttack, to assess its potential as a one-stop centre for treating sickle cell anaemia.
- Odisha has the highest prevalence of sickle cell disease in India, making it a focus area for intervention and care.
- The proposed one-stop centre at SCB will offer comprehensive care, including diagnostic testing, ICU facilities, dedicated wards, medicine distribution, and specialized staff training.
About Sickle Cell Disease (SCD):
- Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is an inherited haemoglobin disorder characterised by a genetic mutation that causes red blood cells (RBCs) to assume a sickle or crescent shape rather than their normal round shape.
- This abnormality in RBCs results in increased rigidity, impairing their ability to circulate effectively throughout the body.
- Consequently, individuals with SCD often experience complications such as anaemia, organ damage, recurrent and severe pain episodes, and a shortened lifespan.
Disease Prevalence:
- Odisha leads with 89,329 diagnosed cases from 47,62,739 screenings, resulting in a disease rate of 1.88%. The national disease average is significantly lower at 38%.
- The state also has the highest number of carriers at 3,66,289 individuals (7.69%) of the population.
National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission (NSCAEM):
- The National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission (NSCAEM) is an initiative launched in 2023 by the Government of India to address the burden of sickle cell anaemia, particularly in tribal-dominated regions.
- It aims to eliminate the disease by 2047 through widespread screening, awareness, and improved access to care and treatment.
Treatment of Sickle Cell Anaemia
Casgevy
- Developed by: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Europe) Ltd. and CRISPR Therapeutics.
- Developed using: Gene editing tool CRISPR, which won its makers a Nobel prize in 2020.
- Approved for: Patients with sickle cell disease and thalassemia who are 12 years old and over.
- Earlier treatment: To date, bone marrow transplants, extremely arduous procedures that come with very unpleasant side effects, have been the only long-lasting treatment.
How Casgevy works?
- It works by targeting the problematic gene in a patient’s bone marrow stem cells so that the body can make properly functioning haemoglobin.
- Patients first receive a course of chemotherapy, before doctors take stem cells from the patient’s bone marrow and use genetic editing techniques in a laboratory to fix the gene.
- The cells are then infused back into the patient for a permanent treatment.
- Patients must be hospitalized at least twice — once for the collection of the stem cells and then to receive the altered cells.