Books by National Institutes of Health

Enclosed is the fourth edition of a book that is dedicated to the medical and social issues of individuals with sickle cell disease. This publication, which was developed by physicians, nurses, psychologists, and social workers who specialize in the care of children and adults with sickle cell disease, describes the current approach to counseling and also to management of many of the medical complications of sickle cell disease. Each chapter was prepared by one or more experts and then reviewed by several others in the field. Additional experts reviewed the entire volume. This book is not the result of a formalized consensus process but rather represents the efforts of those who have dedicated their professional careers to the care of individuals with sickle cell disease. The names of the authors, their affiliations, and their e-mail addresses are listed in the front of the book.

The makings of future news headlines about tomorrow's life saving therapies starts in the biomedical research laboratory. Ideas abound; early successes and later failures and knowledge gained from both; the rare lightning bolt of an unexpected breakthrough discovery --- this is a glimpse of the behind the scenes action of some of the world's most acclaimed stem cell scientists' quest to solve some of the human body's most challenging mysteries.Stem cells --- what lies ahead? The following chapters explore some of the cutting edge research featuring stem cells. Disease and disorders with no therapies or at best, partially effective ones, are the lure of the pursuit of stem cell research. Described here are examples of significant progress that is a prologue to an era of medical discovery of cell-based therapies that will one day restore function to those whose lives are now challenged every day --- but perhaps in the future, no longer.