Sickle cell disease--the American saga.

摘要

The transformation of sickle cell disease (SCD) from obscurity in Africa to visibility in America over the past 100 years is intertwined widi politics and race relations unique to America. Parallel to the development of a conventional scientific understanding of the disease and die evolution of disease control strategies, SCD also developed socio-politically. Initially thought to be a disease exclusively affecting a minority group, it was brought on the political agenda through concerted efforts made primarily by the community that identified closely with the people who suffered from it. The socio-political development that propelled investments in research into the disease's origins, treatment, and models of care resulted in considerable improvements in life expectancy of people with SCD over the past nine decades.