United States: Medical experts have recently discovered the reason why sickle cell disease patients experience pain crises when menstruation occurs.
A substantial rise in inflammation occurs in women during menstruation, which might trigger sickle cell pain events, according to reported research, as reported by HealthDay.
“The amount of inflammation is significantly elevated in the follicular phase, or first half, of the menstrual cycle in female patients with sickle cell disease,” said lead researcher Dr. Jessica Wu, a resident in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Menstruation Triggers Inflammation
“This observation correlates with what we see in the literature, that this is the time in which this patient population has the most vaso-occlusive events (VOEs),” the technical term for the pain events related to sickle cell disease, Wu added in a news release.
The research results could provide insight into potential treatments that lower the chance of pain occurrence for women, according to researchers.
Hormonal Birth Control Could Help
“Many hormonal contraceptives can suppress menstruation or suppress the hormone fluctuations that occur from cycle to cycle, so contraceptives could help these patients manage their pain crises,” Wu said.
The study marks the inaugural investigation between menstrual cycle effects and inflammatory responses in sickle cell disease patients according to Wu.
An inherited red blood cell condition known as sickle cell disease exists as the dominant genetic disorder affecting the blood in America according to researchers who presented background information. The disease transforms red blood cells into irregular and adhesive structures.
The researchers state that these cells may get trapped in veins, causing blood flow restrictions that result in organ damage and infection. Blockages from sickled red blood cells trigger VOEs, which produce severe pain that requires hospital admission.
Study Highlights
Research analysts studied blood samples from eighteen male and thirteen female sickle cell disease patients. The study measured C-reactive protein because this liver-produced protein indicates body inflammation to researchers.
Research showed that women experienced higher levels of C-reactive protein throughout the first portion of their menstrual cycle compared to the later half.
Women with sickle cell disease suffer more painful episodes during their menses according to previous scientific findings that the study team explained.
Why This Matters
“The menstrual cycle is often overlooked in research and clinical care, but can interact with health in important ways, as we are seeing in sickle cell disease,” senior researcher Dr. Andrea Roe, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania, said in a news release.
Wu led the study to explain that sickle cell disease creates debilitating pain that necessitated increased investigation of its effects on women, as reported by HealthDay.
“The more data we have about how it presents in female patients, the better we can counsel them on anticipating and managing their pain,” she said.
Wu highlights the necessity for additional scientific research that includes complete population tracking along with the continuous monitoring of menstrual cycle inflammation in women.