Sickle cell disease is a disorder that affects a person’s red blood cells (erythrocytes). Sickle cell is a red blood cell that does not have the appearance of a normal, healthy red blood cell. Abnormal hemoglobin molecules (the molecules inside of erythrocytes that carry oxygen) of people who suffer from sickle cell disease cause the characteristic crescent moon shape seen in their erythrocytes. The abnormal shape of sickle cells tends to form blockages in the blood vessels, which in turn halts oxygen from traveling to the affected tissues. Also, the abnormal hemoglobin forms fibers causing stiffness, which makes them stick together and does not allow for the normal, free mobility that normal red blood cells have.

                Dr. Frank Ferrone, from Drexel University in Philadelphia, and Dr. Yihua Wang, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, along with many other researchers came up with an extraordinary discovery on sickle cells and why they stick together in sickle cell disease. The researchers experimented with different techniques involving light scattering, and they found that light rays are drastically affected by the arrangement of the hemoglobin fibers that form in sickled red blood cells. They found that areas of the hemoglobin molecules that should repel each other instead stick together resulting in the abnormal shape. The light patterns are reflecting on how the fibers are arranged and what causes sickle cell disease. Their discovery on how they can use light to determine how the fibers were arranged made it possible to compare and contrast sickle cells vs. normal red blood cells. 

This research has brought insight into the formation of the fibers in the sickle cells and it can further research on how to correct the abnormal fibers. What the researchers have discovered can lead to future cures using drugs that can possibly alter and change what is the source of the issue involving the fibers. The experiment gives insight to the researchers because they were able to study the structures of sickle cells based on how the light refracted. They were also able to determine how the abnormal shape leads to the abnormal formation of the fibers in these sickle cells. It is incredible how they were able to use light as a source to determine the difference in the structure of hemoglobin fibers in sickle cells in comparison to the fibers in normal, healthy hemoglobin. This research can greatly impact those that suffer from sickle cell disease by possibly finding a cure, and also giving answers to questions that have been wondered about.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131105121413.htm

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