Charlie Rocco

Specific goal: I would like the audience to learn more about sickle cell; how it affects the body,
the origins of the disease and treatments used.
Thesis statement: With African origins sickle cell can have a traumatic affect on the body with
minor developments in treatments.
Introduction
I.
II.
III.

Have you ever had to breathe through a straw?

I am very rare, since sickle cell was created in Africa you would think only black
people have the disease, well I have the disease.
Today I would like to talk to you about having sickle cell and the information I was
able to collect about the disease.

Body
I.

The first thing I would like to share with you is where Sickle Cell came from.
A. According to The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, in the article Sickle Cell Disease,
published in 2011, Sickle cell affects many people in the U.S.
1. Sickle cell affects about 70,000 people in the U.S. While approximately 2 million
people have the trait in the U.S.
2. The disease affects mainly African Americans with a small population of Hispanic
Americans who are victims of the disease.
B. Sickle Cell is a blood disease, which mutated to combat malaria.
1. Since the cells are shaped like moon crescents they are less likely to be attacked
by the malaria virus.
2. Because of the mutation the trait was passed down in areas where malaria is
common.

(Transition: Now that you have an understanding on how and why the disease came to be I
would like to tell you about the affects the disease has on the body.
II.

Sickle Cell can have a traumatic affect on the body.

A. According to Fleming Fallon the disease can range from minor attacks to intense pain
in the spleen and abdomen area.
1. In extreme cases the disease can be triggered by mild activity resulting in major
pain
2. Many problems car arise with the disease including, delayed growth, stroke, acute
chest syndrome, priapism, kidney disease and many others.
B. In the book Sickle Cell Disease by Miriam Bloom, the relation of altitude to the
disease is explained.
1. Carriers of the disease were originally in Africa where the disease was prevalent.
Africa is at a low altitude, which is why the mutation was able to happen.
2. The cells that are sickled carry much less oxygen than those that are not. So
going into high altitudes where there is less oxygen triggers attacks because the
body is not getting enough oxygen.

(Transition: This brings me onto my final point.)

III.

I want to talk about what treatments are being used and the future of treatments.
A. According to Phil Jones from Genes and Disease published in 2008 there are few
treatments in this day and age.
1. There are only a few options that a patient has when treating the disease. Two are
blood transfusion and a bone marrow transplant.
2. There are also some drugs that help with specific symptoms.
B. While Sickle Cell still has a long way to go in curing the disease, there is hope
1. Gene therapy has recently been introduced to help treat Sickle Cell. This is when
a patients own bone marrow is mutated so they can contain normal genes
2. Scientists are also working with genetically modified cells that can be implanted
into a human.

Conclusion
I.
II.

As you now know Sickle Cell originated from a blood mutation to combat malaria, it
can have a very negative impact on the body and has many milestones to surpass
before it is cured.
Although no cure is in the near sight I believe the future for patients is bright!