Todays Last Words: Yes, people who are White can carry Sickle Cell Trait. Mostly White people carry sickle cell TRAIT; not sickle cell blood disorder. While if Blacks inherent the trait they usually get the blood disorder. Sickle cell diseases are actually a broad group of hemoglobinopathies (genetic blood disorders) that affect over 250 million people around the world, including people in Africa, North & South America, the Mediterranean and Middle East, South Asia, and Europe. Sickle cell trait is not a disease or illness - it is merely a descriptive term that indicates a person has inherited on normal hemoglobin gene (Hb A) and another abnormal hemoglobin gene (Hb S). Some individuals with sickle cell trait are at increased risk for sudden death if they are dehydrated or exposed to high altitudes, but this occurs rarely. If two individuals who have sickle cell trait (Hb AS) mate, then there is a 25% chance with each birth that they will have a child with sickle cell anemia (Hb SS); a 25% chance that they will have a child with normal hemoglobin (Hb AA); and a 50% chance that they will have a child with sickle cell trait. Sickle cell trait occurs in approximately 1 in 12 African Americans; 1 in 1400 Hispanics, and nearly 1 in 100,000 Whites. The origin of the mutation that led to the sickle-cell gene was initially thought to be in the Arabian peninsula, spreading to Asia and Africa. It is now known, from evaluation of chromosome structures, that there have been at least four independent mutational events, three in Africa and a fourth in either Saudi Arabia or central India. These independent events occurred between 3,000 and 6,000 generations ago, approximately 70-150,000 years. Signs of Sickle Cell Anemia There are a number of signs that could indicate sickle cell anemia. Headaches, difficulty breathing, vision and hearing problems, swollen hands and feet, and a yellowing of the skin and eyes are common signs. People with sickle cell are also prone to fever and infection, can suffer from weakness along one side of the body, and have an overall sense of fatigue.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 06:13:14 +0000
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