Functional meals offer prospective therapies for sickle cell patients in Nigerian children

One of the structural hemoglobinopathies, Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), also known as Sickle Cell Anaemia (SCA), is caused by a single nucleotide shift from GAG to GTG, which converts glutamate into valine in the amino acid of a -globin chain of Haemoglobin (Hb). Red Blood Cells (RBCs) with this unique mutation become disordered due to changes in their shape and other clinical circumstances. The only treatment options for SCA in the 1980s were occasional red blood cell transfusions, painkillers, and penicillin prophylaxis, which were frequently saved for serious, life-threatening consequences. Four different medications have now been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the prevention and treatment of SCD clinical problems. The present study discusses the therapeutic effects of readily available functional food as one of the therapies or an adjunct therapy to address the sickle cell crisis in Nigerian children due to limitations (adherence, safety, adverse effects) of existing therapies in the prophylaxis and treatment of SCD complications in Nigerian children as well as their inaccessibility to approved drugs