Open AccessVoxelotor versus other therapeutic options for sickle cell disease: Are we still lagging behind in treating the disease?
Author(s) -
Tayyaba Rehan Syeda,
Hussain Hassan ul,
Malik Farheen,
Usama Rana Muhammad,
Tahir Muhammad Junaid,
Asghar Muhammad Sohaib
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
health science reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.462
H-Index - 7
ISSN - 2398-8835
DOI - 10.1002/hsr2.713
Subject(s) - disease , lagging , medicine , intensive care medicine , pathology
Background Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the most prevalent hemoglobinopathies that affects around 275,000 neonates annually. Until 2017, hydroxyurea was the only available drug for SCD treatment. Later on, L‐glutamine and crizanlizumab have shown promising results in SCD therapy. Objectives There were limited pharmacological options for the disease when in November, 2019, voxelotor was approved for the treatment of SCD patients after showing promising results in the clinical HOPE trial. Despite its favorable results, some life‐threatening side effects were also observed. Uncertainty regarding the use of available pharmaceutical therapies for SCD is the major hurdle for the survival of patients. Discussion & Conclusion An immediate attention needs to be drawn towards the drawbacks of limited pharmacological options for SCD. Article calls out to conduct more extensive trials in this advanced era of medicine where ambiguity regarding the use of SCD drugs still prevails.