Study finds that bone marrow transplants can reverse sickle cell disease in adults

(Image credit: NIH Molecular and Clinical Hematology Branch)

last updated January 8, 2015

A small study has shown huge results: Researchers have found that bone marrow transplants can reverse severe sickle cell disease in adults. Out of 30 adult participants, the transplant worked in 26, and one year later 15 were able to go off the anti-rejection pills they were taking.

"We're very pleased," Dr. John Tisdale, the study's senior author and a senior investigator at the National Institutes of Health, told The Associated Press. "This is what we hoped for."

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The patients participating in the study underwent radiation and chemotherapy to destroy the bone marrow, which was then replaced with healthy marrow cells from a donor, either a patient's brother or sister. The one downside is that less than 1 out of 4 adults with sickle cell disease have a sibling that makes a good match, but researchers are looking into whether other relatives could be suitable donors.

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