Study Finds Steroids Shorten Pain for Sickle Cell Sufferers

Injections of steroid drugs appear to considerably shorten episodes of severe pain that afflict victims of sickle cell disease, a study found.

These painful crises are the most common complication of sickle cell disease and account for substantial missed time from work and school. They occur when misshapen red blood cells get stuck in blood vessels.

Typically, the episodes are treated with narcotics until they spontaneously subside. However, there is no accepted treatment to make them clear up faster.

In a report in today’s New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Timothy C. Griffin and others from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas report on promising results with a new approach.

The doctors found that two large injections of methylprednisolone, given 24 hours apart, cut the episodes nearly in half.

In the United States, where the disease occurs mostly among blacks, about one of every 1,000 people has sickle cell disease.