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Exercise and Sickle Cell Anemia

Is taking it easy the way to go?

Publish date:: October 14, 2015

Maximal exercise may not be associated with any greater escalation of endothelial activation or inflammation in sickle cell anemia (SCA), according to a study of children with SCA and matched controls. Researchers found:

• Despite higher baseline levels of all biomarkers except C-reactive protein (CRP), the acute phase response from baseline to immediately after exercise was significantly greater in patients vs controls for CRP (2.1 vs 0.2 mg/l) and D-dimer (160 vs 10 mg/l).

• Similar between-group trends were seen over time for all biomarkers, including sVCAM, IL6, total WBC, CRP, and D-dimer.

• Lower fitness, defined by peak oxygen consumption, was independently associated with greater acute phase response to exercise for sVCAM.

Citation: Liem RI, Onyejekwe K, Olszewski M, et al. The acute phase inflammatory response to maximal exercise testing in children and young adults with sickle cell anaemia. [Published online ahead of print October 12, 2015]. Br J Haematol. doi: 10.1111/bjh.13782.

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