Antioxidant therapies targeted to specific enzymes or compartments may be beneficial in sickle cell anemia (SCA). MitoQ, the most extensively studied mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant, has been shown to be protective against ischemia/reperfusion injury in the heart, endothelial damage due to hypertension and ROS in animal models. MitoQ is commercially available as a dietary supplement to reduce overall oxidative stress and anti-ageing. However, MitoQ has not been tested either as a platelet antagonist or as an endothelial protectant in SCA patients. Investigators propose to conduct a small clinical trial of MitoQ in subjects with SCA to test the hypothesis that MitoQ scavenges platelet mtROS to prevent platelet activation and attenuate vascular dysfunction in SCA.
Investigators will test whether MitoQ decreases basal platelet activation in SCD patients and attenuates vascular dysfunction in subjects with SCA. Investigators will administer MitoQ orally to patients and healthy controls for 14 days. Investigators will obtain platelet count, hemolytic markers, platelet mtROS levels and activation markers, clinic BP measurements before and after MitoQ.
Adult male and female SCA subjects in steady state (n=10) and 5 healthy African-American volunteers will be recruited after obtaining informed consent.
