The goal of the study is to understand how best to help parents of young children with sickle cell disease and their clinicians have a shared discussion about hydroxyurea (one that takes into account medical evidence and parent values and preferences). The study will compare two methods to help clinicians facilitate this—a clinician pocket guide and a clinician hydroxyurea shared decision making toolkit—in a group of parents of children ages 0-5 with sickle cell disease. The investigators hope that both methods lead to parents reaching a high-quality, well-informed decision. In addition, the team hopes to demonstrate that parents who experience a shared decision will have lower anxiety and decisional uncertainty. The researchers also expect these parents to be more likely to choose hydroxyurea and that their children will have less pain, fewer hospitalizations, better developmental outcomes, and higher quality of life. The project team hopes to show that the toolkit method is easy for clinicians to use and gives parents the support needed to make an informed decision.
Blood and Bone Marrow Disorders
Abatacept for GVHD Prophylaxis After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease
To assess the tolerability of the costimulation blocking agent abatacept (CTLA4-Ig) when added to the standard graft versus host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis regimen of a calcineurin inhibitor and methotrexate in patients receiving early alemtuzumab followed by fludarabine, thiotepa, melphalan, and alemtuzumab for conditioning.
Minimizing Toxicity in HLA-identical Related Donor Transplantation for Children With Sickle Cell Disease (SUN)
This multisite prospective study seeks to determine if HLA-identical sibling donor transplantation using alemtuzumab, low dose total-body irradiation, and sirolimus (Sickle transplant Using a Nonmyeloablative approach, “SUN”) can decrease the toxicity of transplant while achieving a high cure rate for children with sickle cell disease (SCD).
A SAD/MAD to Assess the Safety, Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of FT-4202 in Healthy Volunteers and Sickle Cell Disease Patients
FT-4202 is an oral small-molecule agonist of pyruvate kinase red blood cell isozyme (PKR) being developed for the treatment of hemolytic anemias. This initial study will characterize the safety, tolerability and the pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) of a single ascending dose and multiple ascending doses of FT-4202 in the context of Phase 1 studies in healthy volunteers and sickle cell disease patients. The effects of food on the absorption of FT-4202 will also be evaluated in healthy volunteers.
Integration of mHEALTH Into the Care of Patients With Sickle Cell Disease to Increase Hydroxyurea Utilization
This project proposes to develop, test and evaluate targeted interventions to improve clinical provider prescribing of and patient adherence to hydroxyurea (HU). Using a stepped-wedge design, The investigators will test two innovative interventions utilizing mobile health to address both patients’ and providers’ needs: 1) an mHealth application for patients (InCharge Health app) that includes multi-component features to address the memory, motivation, and knowledge barriers to hydroxyurea use, and 2) an mHealth toolbox application for providers (HU Toolbox app) that addresses clinical knowledge barriers in prescribing and monitoring hydroxyurea use.
A Safety and Efficacy Study Evaluating CTX001 in Subjects With Severe Sickle Cell Disease
This is a single-arm, open-label, multi-site, single-dose Phase 1/2 study in subjects with severe sickle cell disease (SCD). The study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of autologous CRISPR-Cas9 Modified CD34+ Human Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells (hHSPCs) using CTX001.
Dissemination and Implementation of Stroke Prevention Looking at the Care Environment (DISPLACE)
The Dissemination and Implementation of Stroke Prevention Looking at the Care Environment (DISPLACE) study is a multi-center, national, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)-funded grant to look at the real-world implementation of stroke prevention guidelines (STOP Protocol) in which transcranial Doppler (TCD), a measure of cerebral blood vessel velocity, is used to screen for stroke risk in children ages 2-16 with sickle cell anemia (SCA). Part 3 of the DISPLACE study is an implementation clinical trial designed to test novel implementation strategies with the goal of improving adherence and implementation of stroke screening. 16 of the lowest scoring implementation rates from DISPLACE Part 1 will participate in DISPLACE Part 3. All original 28 sites from DISPLACE Parts 1 and 2 will receive a patient and provider educational intervention including a re-branding of the TCD as “Sickle Stroke Screen” with a new infographic and educational materials. The 16 sites with moving to Part 3 will be provided a Provider reminder strategy, which is a web based application designed to remind providers of when patients are due for their Sickle Stroke Screen. These 16 sites will be randomized and 8 will be given an additional Patient Communication Strategy. These sites will have a single designed coordinator with whom patients will communicate with about scheduling, rescheduling, and any other questions regarding their Sickle Stroke Screen. Upon completion, data will be analyzed to compare those who have had TCD screenings done appropriately and those who did not as well as the overall effect of the multi level interventions on the changes in TCD rates.
Sickle Cell Pro-Inflammatory Response to Interval Training Study (SPRINTS)
Recommendations for exercise prescription currently do not exist for individuals with sickle cell anemia (SCA) despite the known impact that SCA-related complications has on physical functioning and fitness. A major barrier to increasing physical activity in SCA is the concern that the well-described inflammatory effects of exercise could precipitate or exacerbate complications such as vaso-occlusive pain or airway bronchoconstriction (i.e. exercise-induced asthma). Although the investigator’s preliminary data suggest that increasing physical activity may be beneficial rather than harmful in children with SCA, the pro-inflammatory effects associated with repeated bouts of moderate to vigorous exercise remain poorly understood in this population. The long term goal is to address the safety and health impact of regular exercise in children with SCA. This proposal would help establish the safety of moderate to vigorous intensity exercise in children with SCA and importantly, will inform the design of future clinical trials focused on exercise training as a transformative strategy to improve fitness and overall well-being in this population.
Study of HLA-Haploidentical Stem Cell Transplantation to Treat Clinically Aggressive Sickle Cell Disease
The study is a Phase II clinical trial. Patients will receive intensity modulated total body irradiation (TBI) at a dose of 3 Gy with standard fludarabine/ i.v. cyclophosphamide conditioning prior to human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).
The primary objective of the study is to determine the engraftment at Day +60 following HLA-haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplant protocol using immunosuppressive agents and low-dose total body irradiation (TBI) for conditioning and post-transplant cyclophosphamide in patients with sickle cell disease.
Ph I/II Study of Allogeneic SCT for Clinically Aggressive Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)
The investigators propose to determine the engraftment and transplant related morbidity and mortality after a non-myeloablative allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant protocol using immune- suppressive agents and low-dose total body irradiation (TBI) without standard chemotherapy in patients with aggressive sickle cell disease who are not candidates for or experienced complications from hydroxyurea therapy.