A new study by De, Agrawal, Morrone et al, chal-lenges the common notion that airway inflammation in Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is secondary to asthma, even though the two disorders often coexist. In a recent pilot, cross sectional study, both systemic and airway inflammatory markers were compared in patients with sickle cell disease with and without asthma or obstructive airway symptoms. Their findings suggest that monocytes may play an important role in pulmonary inflammation in SCD. They propose that additional studies looking into the underlying mechanisms of pulmonary inflammation in SCD may help researchers to develop more targeted therapies for these patients. These findings are published in Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology.
The article entitled “Airway Inflammation and Lung Function in Sickle Cell Disease” was coauthored by Aliva De, MD, Columbia University Medical Center, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY and colleagues from The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.
Source: Read Full Article
