Death of the Modern Myth Of Sickle Cell Anemia Sickle Cell Anemia: Causation and Continuation Defined. Plausibility for treatment, prevention and cure By Keith Lawrence Copyright 2008 In the United States more than 70,000 people have sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease occurs in 1 in every 500 African American births. 2 million people have sickle cell trait. 1 in 12 African Americans has sickle cell trait.
best of the author’s and publisher’s knowledge. This book is intended as an informational reference and does not diagnose, prescribe or claim to cure any diseases. Only God does. Please see your physician, better yet, see the Master Physician first, who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases. ~Psalms 103:3. The author and publisher disclaim all liability in connection with the specific personal use of any and all information provided in this book.
The Origin of The Investigative Research And Journey Within Sickle Cell Anemia “We never test God’s resources until we undertake the impossible.” ~F.B. Meyer “Lord, show me the secrets which I know not, teach me…” ~Keith Lawrence The inspiration for the writing of this book was just that, “inspired by God”, because I had no prior interest or desire to undertake such an awesome task as this. The inspiration and task was given to me seven years prior to the actual research and documentation began. The years spanning 1998-2006 were the intense periods of research and formulation for the basis of this monumental task. The origin was definitely in God’s realm of choosing me, this clay vessel, and the place; no laboratory nor university campus among scholarly degreed, intellectuals or men of science but within the confines of prison. No access to resources and data about this age old malady coined Sickle cell anemia; the hematological disorder deemed “the Black man’s curse” by some, or the boon and bane of the African race by others. Yet I’ve learned that while separated from the outside world with it’s influences, that God could teach and guide me in the midst of my crucible for His Glory and the benefit and help of so many of His people. It has been said, “All His biddings are enablings.” Having questioned whether this calling to pursue this course of study was really what He directed that I do, or just some fleeting grandiose thought, as were so many other circumstantial revelations during my decade plus years of incarceration. The quest has been beset by detours, distractions, personal idiosyncrasies, orchestrated diversions and the echoing insinuations from the adversary to question, procrastinate and abort interruptions from family, the ilk of pseudo friends, illness, and even the passing of my mother. Yet, I’d later come to realize and appreciate the challenge to proceed and the test God was presenting to me. Whilst I asked My Heavenly Father for forgiveness for my oft procrastinations and flippant backburner failures, He never gave up on me nor ceased to woo, urge and send providential motivations and warnings to me, His dependent child, these texts would ever resound in my mind: “And in this I give my advice: it is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring a year ago, but now you must also complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completeness out of what you have. For if there is a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has and not according to what he does not have.” 2 Corinthians 8:11, 12. “….For everyone to whom much is given, from him much is required….” Luke 12:48. “Take heed to the ministry which you have received from the Lord, that you may fulfill it.” Colossians 4:17. Thus by His Grace and Mercy, by His continued favor towards me, and by The Holy Spirit’s leading, Guidance and direction, this trembling hand presses forward for His Glory and praise, the Creator and Redeemer. ~Keith Lawrence ~3~
outworking of God’s providence, the reward of faith and discretion, of virtue and perseverance. Fine mental qualities and a high moral tone are not the result of accident. God gives opportunities; success depends upon the use made of them.” ~Prophets and Kings p. 486 “And the needed knowledge will be given to all who come to Christ, receiving and practicing His teachings, making His word a part of their lives. The Holy Spirit teaches the student of the Scriptures to judge all things by the standard of righteousness and truth and justice. The divine revelation supplies him with the knowledge that he needs. Those who place themselves under the instruction of the great Medical Missionary, to be workers together with Him, will have a knowledge that the world, with all its traditionary lore, cannot supply.” ~C.T. 474-484. “God’s Law is built into every cell, nerve and fiber. Violation of that law involves consequences, whether willingly, ignorantly or presumptuous.” “ It is not coincidence that the very source [blood]is what was required to redeem manand save his life;and is the express area in which under attack to destroy man and end his life.” ~4~
Introduction 1. Blood 6 2. Sickle Cell Disease/Sickle Cell Trait: What is it? 8 3. Origin and History 18 4. It’s a Black Thang!or is it? 20 5. History and Race: What it Means to Belong to an Ethnic Group 26 6. Psychosocial Contexts of Sickle Cell Disease 41 7. Mutations 44 8. DNA, Genes and the Change Felt Around the World 42 9. Mosquitoes, Malaria and Malarkey 49 10. The Spice Connection: Route to Global Change 60 11. A Taste for A Adventure and Love for Money 74 12. The Slave Diet / The African American Diet 91 13. Mutagenesis, Spices and History: A Correlation 101 14. Only Through the Genes or Added to the Beans? New Occurrences? 104 15. One Potato, Two Potato 106 16. Cornbread, Cornmeal or Corny Truth? 110 17. What about Those Soy Beans? 113 18. Location! Location! Location! 126 19. Acquired or Hereditary 127 20. Dangerous Tastes 128 21. Designation of Race and Place 134 22. Testing! Testing!’ Testing! 143 23. Research and Rejection…The Race To Recreate Not Cure 148 24. The Bean, and the Gene, You Know What I mean? 153 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. Medications, Immunizations and the Kitchen Sink Drugs, Drugs and More Drugs Treatments : Historical, Conventional and Contemporary Blood: Under Attack Heredity and Environment Treatments: Natural vs. Modern Vaccines Don’t believe everything they say...Doctors and Scientist Lie Too! Artificial Blood Experiments 157 166 169 173 208 212 241 252 Resources Appendix The Spice Trade References Index Glossary ~5~
…because the life of every creature is its blood. ~Leviticus 17:14 In traversing this monumental path towards explaining the history and origins of this hematologic disorder, one must begin at the beginning, and keeping true to my mission, while this textbook can be read by the medical professional and science researcher, the lay person without any medical background or understanding of molecular biology, chemistry, human physiology or pathophysiology of diseases will be able to understand. As far as possible I shall attempt to keep the technical language within the boundaries of easy comprehension to eliminate any stumbling over terminology. So let’s begin with the human body’s most precious commodity…blood. The River of Life Over five liters of blood constantly circulate through the tunnels called arteries, away from the lungs, and through the veins back to the lungs. The adult male body contains about 5 quarts of blood; an adult female body has about 3 ½ quarts. Blood supplies food, oxygen, messages to your body's organs and removes wastes, carbon dioxide, and old cell parts for recycling. Blood also helps the body warm and cool itself. It is truly the river of life. Blood is made up of a fluid called plasma and three types of cells. Plasma contains the water, sugar, salt, hormones, proteins, and minerals necessary to keep cells alive. It is the fluid that carries the cells around the body to where they are needed. Plasma is filtered by the kidney where urine is made, the liver where protein is made and stored, and the spleen where germs and old cells are removed. There are three main types of blood cells in blood: red (erythrocytes) which carry oxygen from the lungs to all the cells of the body, white (leukocytes) which fight infection, and platelets (thrombocytes) which help the blood clot when bleeding occurs. Other substances in blood are primarily proteins and minerals. About 78 percent of blood, however, is water. White blood cells are the defenders of the body. White blood cells are manufactured and stored in the bone marrow. They begin as stem cells and evolve into mature red, white or platelet cells. Once released, they live for only about four days, if they do not encounter any infection. If they do encounter an infection, their lifespan is cut to a few hours at most. They help capture and fight invading germs and protect the body against foreign cancer cells, viruses, and chemicals. The job of the white cells is to protect the body from infection once it has been invaded by some disease-causing agent like a bacterium. There are different types of white blood cells, each with a different mission and defense location. One type of white cell makes immune protein that fights bacteria, viruses, and foreign proteins that enter the body. This immune reaction can be a bad thing when blood, bone marrow, or another body part is transplanted or transfused as a treatment, and the body attacks it. The types that are immediately released, and whose job it is to offer the first line of defense against invasion are called phagocytic cells because they literally gobble up the invading cell. The second line of defense is made up of cells that form antibodies, or special proteins that latch onto invading cells and destroys them. A deficiency in white blood cells is called leucopenia. A rising white blood cell count may be the first sign of an infection attacking the body. The white blood cells in people with sickle cell disease do not attack germs as well as they do in people without sickle cell. The result can be increased infections ~6~
you breathe to all your living cells, pick up the waste product, carbon dioxide, and carry it back to the lungs for you to breathe out. The total number of red blood cells is estimated at about 45 trillion. There are 25 trillion red blood cells in the body at any given instant. They are too small to be seen without the help of a microscope. (For example, there would be about 50 red blood cells in the space of a period at the end of this sentence.) A tiny drop of blood from a needle prick contains about 5 million of them. Red blood cells are manufactured in the bone marrow at a rate of about 480 million every minute. Each one lives for about four months and carries oxygen to the trillions of other cells in the body. A complete circuit through the blood stream takes only about 20 seconds; during its four month life span, each red blood cell will have made about a quarter of a million round trips, traveling a distance of about 950 miles. As a red blood cell approaches the end of its life, it returns to the bone marrow where it was formed and is consumed by another type of cell, called a phagocyte. The red cell's shape is perfectly designed to travel the narrow capillaries out in the far parts of the body (a capillary is a tiny blood vessel that connects larger blood vessels). Red cells normally last 120 days. Then the covering, or membrane, breaks apart, and the chemicals that make up the cells are recycled. Red blood cells get their color from hemoglobin, a molecule made up of heme (an iron-containing part that combines with oxygen) and globins (a protein). Hemoglobin makes up nearly all of the red blood cell; the rest is water. It is hemoglobin's job to carry oxygen from the lungs to other cells and bring back carbon dioxide, a cell's waste matter, so that it can be breathed out. If the hemoglobin is deficient or abnormal (a condition known as anemia), the oxygen-carrying capacity of hemoglobin is decreased. Cells need oxygen to produce energy. Without it, they cannot perform the thousands of jobs that keep us healthy and alive. The red cell is the main actor in the drama of sickle cell disease. The smallest cells in the blood are the platelets. These colorless cells cause the blood to clot when we bleed. They do this by first adhering to an injured surface, then aggregating with each other, after which they release coagulant substances, and finally they retract the blood clot. Abnormalities in any of these functions can cause extensive or prolonged bleeding, despite a normal number of platelets. Like the red and white blood cells, platelets are also formed in the bone marrow, at a rate of about 200 billion per day. A deficiency in platelets is called thrombocytopenia. A deficiency in all three types of cells is called pancytopenia or aplastic anemia. ~7~
bleeding occurs. The platelets spring into action and cause the blood to form a jellylike plug, called a clot, to block the hole and stop the bleeding. If there are not enough platelets around, you may not stop bleeding. If too many platelets are around, the blood may clot inside blood vessels where there is no hole. This can damage tissue because the blood flow to that area stops. In people with sickle cell disease, the platelets are more active than in people without it. This increased activity can lead to increased clotting inside blood vessels where there is no hole. Hemoglobin – is the main substance of the red blood cell. It helps red blood cells carry oxygen from the air in our lungs to all parts of the body. Normal red blood cells contain hemoglobin A. Hemoglobin S and hemoglobin C are abnormal types of hemoglobin. People with sickle cell conditions make a different form of hemoglobin A called hemoglobin S (S stands for sickle). Normal red blood cells are soft and round and can squeeze through tiny blood tubes (vessels). Normally, red blood cells live for about 120 days before new ones replace them. The basic cause of sickle cell anemia involves hemoglobin, a component of the red cells in the blood. The hemoglobin molecules in each red blood cell carry oxygen from the lungs to organs and tissues and then bring back carbon dioxide for removal by the lungs. In sickle cell anemia, this process is disrupted. After the hemoglobin molecules give up their oxygen, some of them may cluster together and form long, rodlike structures that become stiff and assume a sickle shape. Unlike normal red cells, which are usually smooth and doughnut-shaped, the sickled red cells can't squeeze through small blood vessels. Instead, they stack up and cause blockages that deprive the organs and tissues of oxygen-carrying blood. Red blood cells containing mostly hemoglobin S do not live as long as normal red blood cells (normally about 16 days). They also become stiff, distorted in shape and have difficulty passing through the body’s small blood vessels. When sickle-shaped cells block small blood vessels, less blood can reach that part of the body. Tissue that does not receive a normal blood flow eventually becomes damaged. This is what causes the complications of sickle cell disease. Sickle Cell Disease /Sickle Cell Trait: What is it? Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that affects red blood cells. People with sickle cell disease have red blood cells that contain mostly hemoglobin* S, an abnormal type of hemoglobin. Sometimes these red blood cells become sickle-shaped (crescent shaped) and have difficulty passing through small blood vessels. When sickle-shaped cells block small blood vessels, less blood can reach that part of the body. Tissue that does not receive a normal blood flow eventually becomes damaged. This is what causes the complications of sickle cell disease. Sickle cell anemia is a common inherited blood disorder that causes chronic anemia and periodic episodes of pain and other complications. In sickle cell anemia, the red blood cells become rigid and shaped like crescents, or sickles, rather than being flexible and round. People with sickle cell disease have hemoglobin that is different in only one way from that of the normal population. This simple difference is the basis for all the problems that result from sickle cell disease. ~8~
Fleepit Digital © 2021