Endari – pro
Patients with sickle cell disease have an altered form of the hemoglobin protein (which carries oxygen, via the blood, to tissues) that renders red blood cells susceptible to oxidation damage.
High oxidative stress has been associated with an increased stiffness in these red blood cells, leading to their sickle-like shape. Less flexible than healthy (and round) red blood cells, these abnormal cells often stick to vessel walls, blocking or slowing blood flow and oxygen transport. Endari increases the amount of free glutamine circulating in the blood, which is taken up by the sickle cells and used to generate anti-oxidant molecules as a product of glutamine degradation.These new antioxidants help neutralize the oxidative stress in sickle red blood cells, allowing them to regain the flexibility needed to travel through blood vessels and capillaries, carrying oxygen to tissues throughout the body.
INDICATION. ENDARI [L-glutamine oral powder] is indicated to reduce the acute complications of sickle cell disease in adults and children 5 years and older. It is FDA indicated for this patient.
Endari [Package Insert]. Torrance, CA: Emmaus Medical Inc.; July 2017.
Gibbons G, Shurin S, et al. Evidence-Based Management of Sickle Cell Disease: Expert
Panel Report (EPR), 2014. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National
Institutes of Health.