Sickle Cell Anemia - Hydroxyurea

Host: So there is great hope down the road?

Dr. Ludovico Guarini: It is great hope in this rare disease. Also there are for instance, further interventions that they have changed the face of the sickle cell, including the use of hydroxyurea. Hydroxyurea is a medication that, it was used actually as cancer treatment for a long time but it has a very good track record of being used in a chronic and a longterm kind of situation and without significant side effects and there was a very pivotal study about -- it's getting close to 15 years where hydroxyurea was used to see whether or not it could prevent some of the complications of the sickle cell and it does. And a number of patients nowadays, both adults and pediatric patients are on hydroxyurea and that has made their life incredibly better.

Host: Thank you Dr. Ludovico Guarini.