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Overview
 The Sickle Cell Anemia Sleep & Asthma Cohort Study (SAC) is a research study that will try to determine how asthma, with or without low levels of oxygen during sleep, causes an increase in pain episodes or lung complications in children with sickle cell anemia.
This four-year observational study involves three sites in the United States and England. The study is funded by a $7.9 million National Institutes of Health grant, awarded to Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, serving as the coordinating center with Michael DeBaun, MD, MPH, Professor of Pediatrics, Biostatistics and Neurology, as Principal Investigator.
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited blood disorder that affects approximately 1 in 400 African-American children in the United States and 1 in 200 African and Caribbean children in the United Kingdom. The best medical care for children with sickle cell disease depends on early detection of medical complications and parent education.
The SAC Study is seeking to enroll children with sickle cell anemia between the ages of 4 and 18. The goal of this observational study is to understand how asthma and sleep problems may affect the course of sickle cell anemia.
Asthma is an ongoing, long-term disease that affects the airways in the lung. Sometimes the airway becomes smaller and less air flows through the lungs. When this happens, symptoms like wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), coughing, chest tightness and trouble breathing, occur.
Sleep problems are a group of disorders that cause poor sleep quality. One common sleep problem is caused by snoring that is severe enough that breathing is interrupted during sleep. When this happens, oxygen levels may fall and sleep is disrupted. This sleep problem is called "sleep apnea."
For further information about sickle cell disease, asthma or sleep problems please continue in About Sickle Cell Disease, About Asthma and About Sleep Problems, or with the web links provided below. If you would like to read more about the SAC Study, please open the PDF below to view the SAC Study Brochure.
 About Asthma
About Sleep Problems
About Test
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