Hypoxemia during Sleep in Sickle Cell Disease: How Common is It and How Might Treatments Help
Official title: Hypoxemia with Sleep in Sickle Cell Anemia-Prevalence, Clinical and Cellular Impact & Response to Therapy: A Multi-Site Prospective Study Accessing New Collaborative Pathways
Funded at Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill · NIH-11416641 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study looks at how low oxygen during sleep affects adults with sickle cell disease and how they respond to therapy across multiple urban and rural sites.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2025 |
| Project end | June 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $688,585 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL177199-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11416641 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with sickle cell disease (particularly HbSS or related severe forms) who may experience sleep-related low oxygen and are willing to participate across multiple sites.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without sickle cell disease or those not experiencing sleep-related hypoxemia may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
People with sickle cell anemia may experience low oxygen levels at night that could worsen health problems. This multi-site study will measure how common sleep-related hypoxemia is in adults with SCA, its effects on brain, heart, and other organs, and how treatments change these outcomes. The research will collect patient-reported outcomes and use coordinated data across four hospitals to better understand this issue. Participants may be asked to undergo sleep studies, provide samples, and complete surveys as part of the study across several sites including Philadelphia, Newark, Birmingham, and Chapel Hill. The goal is to reveal whether treating sleep-related low oxygen could improve overall health for adults with sickle cell disease.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the study could lead to better screening for sleep-related hypoxemia in sickle cell patients and inform therapies that improve daily functioning and organ health.
How similar studies have gone: Similar studies in related conditions have shown that addressing nocturnal hypoxemia can influence health outcomes, but this multi-site approach in sickle cell is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Little, Jane — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Little, Jane
Related research
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.