Testing an antioxidant supplement for sickle cell disease complications

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are testing a supplement called MitoQ to see if it can help people with sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease causes problems with blood clots and blood vessel damage, and this study looks at whether MitoQ—which works by reducing harmful molecules in cells—might protect against these complications. The team will give the medication to sickle cell patients and compare their results to healthy volunteers over a two-week period.

People with sickle cell disease experience excessive blood clotting and damage to their blood vessels, which causes pain and organ damage. This medication has shown promise in lab and animal studies at protecting cells from oxidative damage, but it has never been tested in sickle cell patients before.