UC researcher receives funding to study bone complications in people with sickle cell disease
· News-MedicalWhat is sickle cell disease?
Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects about 100,000 people in the United States. In people with SCD, red blood cells become rigid and deform into a crescent or sickle shape. Sickled cells die prematurely and often become lodged in small blood vessels, restricting blood flow and causing serious health problems throughout the body. Many people may know about anemia in sickle cell disease, but bone complications are less frequently discussed.
Bone complications in sickle cell disease patients
She will also explore how bone complications, and particularly bone cells, cause bone pain in patients with sickle cell disease.
"Individuals with sickle cell disease experience chronic musculoskeletal pain, which markedly diminishes their quality of life," said Gollamudi. "The goal of this project is to identify if bone cells are drivers for musculoskeletal pain."
Currently, there are no targeted pain therapies, and opioid treatments have limited efficacy, Gollamudi said. Building on her findings about the role of inflammation in bone complications, her research will examine whether treatments already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can be leveraged to treat chronic musculoskeletal pain.
"We think there are FDA-approved medications already on the market that could be used to treat bone complications and bone pain in patients with sickle cell disease," said Gollamudi.
Mentorship
Another UC mentor, Michael Jankowski, PhD, a professor in the Department of Pediatrics and a member of Cincinnati Children's Division of Anesthesiology and its Pain Management Center, contributes expertise that's directly relevant to Gollamudi's investigation into chronic musculoskeletal pain in people with sickle cell disease.
Outside UC, Gollamudi has two additional mentors: Jane Little, MD, professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and director of its comprehensive sickle cell disease program; and Lalitha Nayak, MD, an associate professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine, specializing in the care of patients with complex bleeding and clotting disorders at the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center Hematology Clinic.
"These are powerful women physician-scientists who have inspired me," said Gollamudi. "Their work in sickle cell disease and hematology has shaped how I approach both patient care and research, and I am grateful for their guidance."
Source: