How sickle cell protects against Malaria

Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects millions of people around the globe
and is the 4th leading cause of deaths in children in many developing
countries. It causes a number of health problems, such as attacks of
pain, anaemia, swelling in the
hands and feet, bacterial
infections and stroke. The
disease results in abnormal
haemoglobin - the oxygen-
carrying protein found in red
blood cells – giving the blood
cell a rigid, sticky, sickle-like
shape that hinders its oxygen-binding properties. These irregularly
shaped cells can get stuck in small blood vessels, which can slow or
block blood flow and oxygen to parts of the body. The sickle cells
have membranes, stretched by their unusual shape, that become
porous and leak nutrients that the parasites need to survive and the
faulty cells eventually get eliminated quite fast by the organisms,
destroying the parasite along the way. Researchers found the answer
by looking at where the disease was most prevalent. As it turns out,
80% of sickle cell disease cases occur in Sub-Saharan Africa or
amongst populations having their ancestors in this region, as well as
in other parts of the world where malaria is or was common.