Famous people with sickle cell anemia

Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins

Also known as "T-Boz" Tione Watkins is the lead singer of R&B group TLC. She was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia at an early age, limiting what she could do as a singer and dancer. Her sickle cell anemia caused other  problems in her life such as having a brain tumor. In order to help with other people with the disease, Watkins became a spokesperson of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America in 1996

"Tionne Tenese Watkins." 2014. The Biography Channel website. Feb 18 2014, 08:42 http://www.biography.com/people/tionne-t-boz-watkins-21306077.

Albert Johnson also known as rapper Prodigy for the rap duo Mobb Deep also had sickle cell anemia. Here is a link were he talks about his life with sickle cell anemia

Interview

Preview: My family friend john was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia as an infant. He is now 26 years old.

Q: What is it like living with Sickle Cell?

A: It's normal now, I used to get sick getting headaches, stomachaches, seizures and strokes to the point I couldn't go work for weeks but now I exercise a lot and eat very healthy so my life is a little bit better.

Q: What was your Childhood like?

A: My childhood was difficult for both my parents and I. My parents couldn't go anywhere because they had to take care of me. I frequently got seizures and didn't have that many friends. School was very hard for me, I would always miss it and It was really hard for me to pay attention. They put me in remedial classes yet I actually was smart it was just I couldn't.

Q: Are there any organizations you are part of?

A: I am in the Sickle Cell Association of Sickle Disease, Inc. SCDAA, HHSCAA, and I even started my own local organizations in Cary North Carolina.

Q: Did any of your parents have sickle cell anemia

A: Non of my parents had sickle cell anemia but my mom had the trait.

Q: Why do you think it's so common for black people to have Sickle Cell?

A: I really don't know, I just think it's the environment.

Q: What restrictions do you have with sickle cell anemia?

A: I can't be stressed go out drink and all that. I have to exercise , and so on.

Did you know?

There's 25% possibility for children to develop sickle cell anemia if they inherit the sickle cell trait from both their parents.

Sickle cell carriers have a 50% chance of passing the trait to their children

The life expectancy for sickle cell has increased over the years to living up to an age of  42 years for females and 48 years for males. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs308/en/

It was once only 14 years old for men, because of death from strokes, organ failures, brain tumors, and chest pain.

72,000 Americans have sickle cell anemia but 1 in 500 African American babies are diagnosed with sickle cell anemia making black the leading race for the disease

Approximately 2.5 million Americans have the sickle cell trait but only 1,000 babies are born with sickle cell anemia. http://www.sicklecelldisease.org/index.cfm?page=faq

Individuals whose ancestors lived in sub- Saharan, Africa, Middle East, India, or the Mediterranean region such as Portuguese, Spanish most likely have the trait.

The trait is most common where malaria is common but people who have the sickle cell trait most likely don't get malaria.

1 in 12 African Americans are a carrier

Worldwide, it has been estimated that 250,000 children are born each year with sickle cell anemia http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/facts.html

Signs and symptoms of sickle cell

1. Pain and swelling in hands and feet
2. Fever, chest pain or episodic pain in joints, abdomen or back
3. Shortness of breath and fatigue
4. Abnormal swelling and unusual or prolonged headache
5. Any sudden weakness or less of sensation and prolonged erection
6. Sudden vision changes and loss of consciousness
7. Paleness and parvovirus which is the destruction of the bone marrow; this is aplastic crisis.
8. Pneumonia and damage to the joints especially hip and shoulder
9. Gallstones, stroke and seizures, heart murmurs or enlarged heart.
10. Delayed growth and sexual development
11. Liver disease, and high rate of hepatitis C
12. Leg ulcers and problems with thinking, memory and perfomance.

History of sickle cell anemia

Sickle cell anemia is a hereditary disease that was discovered in 1910 though it had been present in Africa for several years. According to the Nemours Foundation sickle cell anemia was discovered by Dr. James B. Herrick; a cardiologist. A patient named Walter Clement came to him with complains of pain and pneumonia but Herrick assigned him to Dr. Ernest Irons because of his lack of interest his red blood cells had a shape of a sickle. Herrick became interested and published a paper naming the disease "sickle cell disease" which he became known for. A carrier has two blood types hemoglobin

    
S (sickle) and Hemoglobin A (normal). If the trait only has S then the person has sickle cell anemia.
If the parents have the disease then the genotype is SS but if they are a carrier the genotype is AS. If an individual does not have sickle cell anemia at all the genotype is AA
It's not chromosomal but hemoglobin abnormality