Sickle Cell Kidney (SCeK) Study
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Health are doing a study to better understand why kidney disease is so common in people carrying the sickle cell gene and how to improve kidney health in people with the sickle cell gene.
Seeking solutions for better kidney health among people living with the sickle cell gene.
For Participants
- Why are we doing this study?
- We do not know why kidney disease in people with sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait is worse than people without any sickle cell.
- Our regular blood and urine tests are not very good at finding kidney disease in sickle cell.
- This study will help find better tests and maybe help find better treatments for kidney disease in people with sickle cell disease or sickle cell trait.
- To qualify for this study you will need to be:
- Age over 18 years and less than 65 years
- Self-identify as Black race.
- Have confirmed sickle cell disease or sickle cell trait
- Live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas (to allow for sample collection).
- Not be in worse than usual pain or have an illness at the time of sample collection.
- Not be pregnant at time of sample collection.
- Never had any type of transplant except bone marrow transplant.
- Not have any active cancers
- Click here to fill out a brief survey if you think you qualify
- I'm interested, what's next?
- You will have blood and urine samples collected once a year for up to the next 10 years - but you don't have to go for more than one visit.
- You can do the visit during your usual doctor visit or lab appointment.
- For each once-a-year visit, you will need to fill out two short questionnaires. These surveys will ask about your health habits.
- You will receive $50 every time you finish giving blood and urine samples and fill out the short questionnaires.
Research Team
Professor of Internal Medicine
Associate Dean, Translational Science
Collaborating Physician
Professor of Internal Medicine
Director, Pak Center for Mineral Metabolism and Clinical Research
Collaborating Physician
- What is sickle cell?
- Sickle cell is when the gene that helps makes normal red blood cells is changed (mutated) from normal.
- If you have two copies of the sickle cell gene (or one copy of the sickle cell gene and one copy of another abnormal gene), this is sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease can cause many severe health problems including kidney disease.
- If you have one copy of the sickle cell gene and one copy of the normal gene, this is sickle cell trait. Sickle cell trait is not a disease but can cause silent problems in some people.
- The sickle cell gene is found mostly in people with African ancestry because malaria is common in parts of Africa. Sickle cell trait protects against malaria.
- What is Chronic Kidney Disease?
- When the kidneys are not working well. The kidneys main work is to clean (or filter) the blood.
- Chronic kidney disease can only be diagnosed with blood and urine tests.
- Chronic kidney disease is silent – it rarely causes any symptoms unless it is very bad.
- Sickle Cell and the Kidneys: Did you know?
- Nearly one in three adults with sickle cell disease have chronic kidney disease. Sickle cell trait is a very common cause of chronic kidney disease.
- Kidney disease gets worse faster and can end up in dialysis more often in people with the sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait.
- Nearly one in five deaths in adults living with sickle cell disease are due to chronic kidney disease.
- Kidney disease is silent – early detection requires blood and urine testing with a doctor. There are no reliable early symptoms.
- Early detection of kidney disease is very important to prevent dialysis and death.
- There are no treatments specific to kidney disease in sickle cell disease – we currently use drugs specific to other conditions.
Contact Us
SCeK@UTSouthwestern.edu
Phone Number: 214-645-8267
(Monday to Friday, 9AM to 5PM, CST)
Physical Address
SCeK Study
Internal Medicine-KCRO
5959 Harry Hines Blvd.
Suite HQ7.719
Dallas, TX 75390