Sickle Cell Program
The Children's Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) has established the New York metropolitan region's only comprehensive pediatric program for the treatment of sickle cell disease, a hereditary, often fatal blood disorder that strikes most often in African-American communities.
The CHAM Comprehensive Pediatric Sickle Cell Program is led by Catherine Driscoll, MD, a nationally recognized sickle cell expert. Over the past decade, Dr. Driscoll has conducted extensive research on sickle cell disease and another blood disorder, thalassemia. Dr. Driscoll has participated in trials involving the use of hydroxyurea, which increases fetal hemoglobin, as well as the national Baby Hug infant trial and the Stop I and II stroke prevention trials. In addition, she was awarded an NIH grant to study the genetics of stroke in sickle cell patients with Ronald Nagel, MD, director of the Bronx Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center.
Experts estimate that one of every 400 African-American children and one of every 1,250 Hispanic-American children are born with sickle cell disease, in which the red blood cells, normally disc-shaped, become crescent-shaped. In many patients, the abnormal cells 'close off' blood vessels and give rise to recurrent, painful episodes called "sickle cell crises." The disease can also cause vulnerability to infections, organ damage, and, in some cases, early death.
"Sickle cell disease is a life-changing disorder," Dr. Driscoll said. "Sickle cell crises affect most organs in the body and eventually result in chronic organ damage leading to stroke, chronic lung or kidney disease."
"These painful crises can occur any time and can last from days to weeks. They are often severe enough to require hospitalization."
CHAM is one of the premier institutions in the US, and the only institution in the Greater New York region for the comprehensive care of children with sickle cell disease. CHAM has made a commitment to developing the most comprehensive approaches to the disease, and is actively pursuing new agents to both determine its causes and to alleviate the physical as well as the emotional symptoms.
“At CHAM, we offer diagnosis and treatment that begins in utero, and continues as the child
grows,” says Thomas Moulton, PhD, attending physician, Department of Pediatrics,
CHAM, and assistant professor of Pediatrics, AECOM. Dr. Moulton explains that silent
strokes are common in even the youngest patients, and can affect learning and personality. The multidisciplinary approach at CHAM is helping to establish newer, more promising treatments for sickle cell disease, and offering new hope for countless children in the region.
"At CHAM we have what it takes to find new ways to treat patients living with this disease and to help them experience less pain and enjoy a better overall quality of life," Dr. Driscoll said. Dr. Driscoll is developing comprehensive programs at CHAM to treat pediatric thrombosis (blood clots) and family-centered treatment plans to help sickle cell patients and families deal with the disease while living healthier, more normal lives. The CHAM program also focuses on studying and treating susceptibility to stroke and pulmonary hypertension in children with sickle cell disease.
