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Menopause is a natural part of every women's life, but it may also be a time of change leading to biopsychosocial complications. Perimenopause is the time during which the body transitions to menopause, marking the end of the reproductive years. The Society for Women's Health Research Menopause Working Group cites that signs of progression toward menopause such as menstrual irregularity may be noted in the 40s, but some women may notice changes as early as their mid-30s. Perimenopause can last several years. Perimenopausal care plays an important role in the promotion of healthy aging and quality of life. For some, symptoms of menopause can have a detrimental impact on quality of life and pose serious risks to bone, cardiovascular and genitourinary health. There is a paucity of literature in menopause and sickle cell disease (SCD). A longitudinal study in Brazil of 15 women with SCD and a multi-center study of hydroxycarbamide exposure and ovarian reserve by Pecker et al have both indicated that women with SCD may have early menopause. Our exploratory study sought to determine menopause health-literacy and describe bothersome menopausal symptoms in women with SCD.

Objective.Blood transfusion plays a prominent role in the management of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) and has a compounded effect on iron overload, especially when simple top-off transfusions are given. Adults with sickle cell anemia (SCA: HbSS or HbSβ 0-thalassemia), often require episodic blood transfusions on a chronic basis and, hence, are at risk of developing transfusional iron overload. We monitored 83 adult SCD patients with a diagnosis of iron overload during routine treatment and follow up at our clinical center. The aim of this study was to observe and describe treatment outcomes for individuals with iron overload seen at the University of Illinois adult sickle cell center between 2010 and 2023.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects around 100,000 Americans and presents numerous health-related challenges thus necessitating effective management strategies. Educational initiatives on evidence-based intervention are known to play a crucial role in improving patient-related outcomes (PRO) and enhancing the quality of life (QOL) for individuals with SCD.

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Heparin induced thrombocytopenia is seen in patients with exposure to unfractionated heparin or low molecular weight heparin products. Surgical patients are at the highest risk for heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) and patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery have the second highest risk for developing heparin antibodies leading to HIT. Eight percent of heparin treated patients develop antibodies and 1-5% develop HIT; of these, 30-50% develop thrombosis along with the thrombocytopenia with a 20-30% morbidity and mortality rate. There are three different scoring systems typically used to determine the probability of HIT. These include the 4T score (most commonly used), HIT Expert Probability (HEP) score, and the Lillo-Le Louet (LLL) model scoring system (used exclusively for post-CABG patients). To date there have been limited studies done to compare the various scoring systems specifically in post CABG patients. The purpose of this study was to determine which scoring system was best at predicting the probability of HIT in a CABG patient.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a complex condition that impacts over 900,000 people in the

Background

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Introduction

Introduction:

Objective:

Nearly all autologous hematopoietic cell therapy (HCT) procedures are performed using mobilized hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs). Successful outcome is dependent on infusing an adequate number of functionally active HPCs. Mobilization strategy of AMD3100, in combination with G-CSF, increases total CD34+ cells mobilized, and often is used for HPC mobilization in myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients. Unfortunately, this approach does not always lead to adequate HPC collection in patients who previously have been exposed to extensive cytotoxic therapy. Furthermore, suboptimal number of HPCs mobilized in some patients may result in slower hematopoietic reconstitution and increased risk of complications during the transplant. Hence developing new mobilization strategy is highly desired for patients who are considered poor-mobilizers. Notch is a signaling molecule important for stem cell self-renewal and fate determination in many tissues including the hematopoietic system. An important feature of Notch is its adhesive nature which was first described by cell aggregation assays in Drosophilastudies. We previously reported that hematopoietic stem cell and progenitors (HSPCs) with faulty Notch-ligand interaction display increased cell cycling, decreased adhesion to marrow osteoblastic lineage cells, and enhanced egress from the marrow.

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Traditionally sickle cell disease has been a disease of the young, and most sickle cell disease patients have previously been thin and undernourished. However with recent advances in sickle cell with the improvement in overall management due to groundbreaking medications such as hydroxyurea, sickle cell disease prognostics have improved along with a much increased life span compared to only a few decades ago. In the general population, the prevalence of being overweight and of obesity has exponentially increased causing an increasingly worse morbidity and mortality, and predisposing patients to increased heart disease, hypertension, stroke, and kidney disease. It is estimated that more than one-third of the US adults are obese. Sickle cell patients are prone to similar complications which are observed at an earlier age when compared to the general population due to constant hemolysis and increased stress on the various organ systems. The goal of this study was to examine the prevalence of obesity in sickle cell patients since there is very limited data on weight status and sickle cell disease. Also the nature of sickle cell complications in overweight and obese patients were compared to those of sickle cell patients with normal weight.

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Abstract 1017This icon denotes a clinically relevant abstract