Researchers target sickle-cell cure

Stem cell transplants have long been a therapy option for children with life-threatening cases of sickle-cell disease, but the procedure itself can be deadly.

Researchers in France now report that transplants have cured 30 consecutive patients over several years, thanks largely to an immunity-suppressing drug that has shown only mixed effectiveness in the past. The study of 69 children and young adults began in 1988.