death for patients with sickle cell disease,” said study lead researcher Dr. Elliott Vichinsky, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco.
“These patients are susceptible to strokes, renal failure and other complications that lead to early death,” he said in a UCSF news release. “We believe this drug has the potential to decrease chronic organ failure in patients with this condition.”
For her part, Aygun said the new drug does seem to hold promise, but gains for patients were so far not dramatic.
She noted that patient pain “events” didn’t change, regardless of whether people received Voxelotor or the placebo. The most common side effects of the new drug were headache and diarrhea.
And Aygun stressed that it remains to be seen “whether taking this medication for longer duration will lead to a decrease in pain events or organ damage caused by sickle cell disease.”
The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
For more information on sickle cell disease, visit our Health Conditions page on BlackDoctor.org.
SOURCES: Banu Aygun, M.D.,associate chief, hematology, Cohen Children’s Medical Center, New Hyde Park, N.Y.; University of California, San Francisco, news release, June 17, 2019