image: John Wood, M.D., Ph.D., works at the Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles. view more
Credit: Photo courtesy of Children's Hospital Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (December 21, 2010) – "Catastrophic muscle breakdown in African American men with sickle cell trait is the leading cause of death in NCAA football players in the last decade," said John Wood, MD, PhD, researcher at The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and associate professor at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.
Dr. Wood, director of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging for the Heart Institute at Children's Hospital, has received a $100,000 grant from NFL Charities for sports-related medical research on the sickle cell trait in athletes.
Red blood cells contain a protein called hemoglobin that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. Normally, the red cell is disc-shaped. Sickle cell disease is caused by abnormal hemoglobin, called hemoglobin S. Hemoglobin S causes the red cell to be distorted after it delivers oxygen. Instead of the normal disc shape, the cell is shaped like a crescent or sickle. These abnormally shaped cells become stiff, fragile, and tend to clog small blood vessels in exercising muscle.
Sickle cell disease requires two abnormal genes, one from each parent. Someone who inherits the abnormal hemoglobin S gene from one parent and the normal hemoglobin gene from the other parent has sickle cell trait (SCT). This condition occurs in 8 percent of African Americans and is rarely associated with clinical disease. However, under conditions of extreme heat and exertion, like those associated with military training and professional sports, hemoglobin may sickle in individuals with SCT resulting in catastrophic organ damage and death.
The reasons why some individuals with SCT are vulnerable to these complications are unknown. Dr. Wood proposes to probe energy production mechanisms in SCT red blood cells to determine whether there are key shortages of important building blocks. In particular, he would like to determine whether the amino acid glutamine improves red cell chemical energy stores and their flexibility. If glutamine supplementation benefits red cell physiology in SCT athletes, it would represent an easy and safe therapy that could be incorporated into athletic training regimens.
"We are proud to support sports-related medical research proposals through NFL Charities Medical Research Grants," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, President of the NFL Charities Board. "These grants will help to address risk factors for football players and all athletes, and make the game safer."
NFL Charities is a non-profit organization created by the 32 member clubs of the National Football League to enable the teams to collectively make grants to charitable and worthwhile causes on a national scale. Since its inception, NFL Charities has granted more than $120 million to more than 640 different organizations. NFL Charities' primary funding categories include: sports-related medical research and education grants; player foundation grants in support of the philanthropic work of current and former NFL players; impact grants to support national youth health and fitness education initiatives as part of a league-wide commitment to fight childhood obesity; financial assistance for former NFL players in need via direct support to the NFL Player Care Foundation; team program grants which supplement the charitable and community activities of the 32 NFL clubs.
The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles is among the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States, with 100 investigators at work on 186 laboratory studies, clinical trials and community-based research and health services. The Saban Research Institute is ranked eighth in National Institutes of Health funding among children's hospitals in the United States.
Founded in 1901, Children's Hospital Los Angeles is one of the nation's top children's hospitals and is acknowledged worldwide for its leadership in pediatric and adolescent health. Children's Hospital is one of only eight in the nation – and the only one in the western United States – named to the national "Honor Roll" of children's hospitals in the 2010 U.S. News & World Report rankings for clinical excellence. The hospital is preparing to open a $636 million, 317-bed state-of-the-art facility in July 2011 that will further expand services and capabilities at its main campus on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Calif., as well as increase the ability to provide family-centered care to residents throughout the region.
Children's Hospital Los Angeles is a premier teaching hospital and has been affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California since 1932.