Is hydroxyurea a “cure” for sickle cell disease?
No, but it can help some patients. It can prevent attacks from occurring, but is of no help in actually treating a painful crisis once it has started. Were there any deaths in the study? Yes, but numbers in the HU and placebo groups did not differ significantly. No deaths were related to use of HU. Is hydroxyurea ever dangerous? It can be very dangerous if the patient and his/her blood count are not followed carefully. If, and only if, they are watched closely, it is not dangerous when prescribed by a physician experienced in the use of such treatments. Are there any unclear/undefined risks? This study did not address these problems directly, but there might be a risk to the baby if a pregnant woman took HU. Problems which developed in animals were seen at doses about 10 times as large as those we used. There also might possibly be a risk if a man were taking HU at the time of conception. In our study, treatment was stopped if any patient or his partner became pregnant during the study
