Sickle Cell disease has been a silent killer in the Black community for decades, but it appears that new gene therapy could hold the key to curing the disease.
In a half-dozen clinical trials, researchers are testing strategies for correcting the problem at the genetic level according to the New York Times. Sickle cell disease is caused by a mutation in one errant gene that is found mostly in people of African descent.
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An estimated 100,000 people in the United States and about 300,000 infants worldwide are born with the condition each year. Sickle Cell is most common in sub-Saharan Africa, where an estimated 70 percent of children with it die.
The treatments are being conducted by Bluebird Bio, a biotech company in Cambridge, Mass. Currently, the only true chance for clearing sickle cell disease is a bone marrow transplant.
Source: Experimental gene therapy could produce cure for Sickle Cell
