Evie Junior is participating in a CIRM funded clinical trial for sickle cell disease that uses a stem cell gene therapy approach. Image credit: UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center
For Evie Junior, personal health and fitness have always been a top priority. During his childhood, he was active and played football, basketball, and baseball in the Bronx, New York. One would never guess that after playing these sports, some nights he experienced pain crises so severe that he was unable to walk. One would also be shocked to hear that he had to have his gallbladder and spleen removed as a child as well.
The health issues that Evie has faced all of his life are related to his diagnosis of sickle cell disease (SCD), a genetic, blood related disorder. SCD causes blood stem cells in the bone marrow, which make blood cells, to produce hard, “sickle” shaped red blood cells. These “sickle” shaped blood cells die early, causing there to be a lack of red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. Due to their “sickle” shape, these cells also get stuck in blood vessels and block blood flow, resulting in excruciating bouts of pain that come on with no warning and can leave patients hospitalized for days.
SCD affects 100,000 people in the United States, the majority of whom are from the Black and Latinx communities, and millions more people around the world,. It can ultimately lead to strokes, organ damage, and early death.
Growing up with SCD inspired Evie to become an emergency medical technician, where he would be able to help patients treat their pain en route to the hospital, in much the same way he has managed his own pain crises for his whole life. Unfortunately as time passed, Evie’s pain crises became harder and harder to manage.
Then in July 2019, Evie decided to enroll in a CIRM funded clinical trial for a stem cell gene therapy to treat SCD. The therapy, developed by Dr. Don Kohn at UCLA, is intended to correct the genetic mutation in a patient’s blood stem cells to allow them to produce healthy red blood cells. Dr. Kohn has already applied the same concept to successfully treat several genetic immune system deficiencies in two other CIRM funded trials, including a cure for a form of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, also known as bubble baby disease, as well as X-Linked Chronic Granulomatous Disease.
After some delays related to the coronavirus pandemic, Evie finally received an infusion of his own blood stem cells that had been genetically modified to overcome the mutation that causes SCD in July 2020.
Although the results are still very preliminary, so far they look very promising. Three months after his treatment, blood tests indicated that 70% of Evie’s blood stem cells had the new corrected gene. The UCLA team estimates that a 20% correction would be enough to prevent future sickle cell complications. What is also encouraging is that Evie hasn’t had a pain crisis since undergoing the treatment.
In a press release from UCLA, Dr. Kohn discusses that he is cautiously optimistic about these results.
“It’s too early to declare victory, but it’s looking quite promising at this point. Once we’re at six months to a year, if it looks like it does now, I’ll feel very comfortable that he’s likely to have a permanent benefit.”
In the same press release, Evie talks about what a cure would mean for his future and his life going forward.
“I want to be present in my kids’ lives, so I’ve always said I’m not going to have kids unless I can get this cured. But if this works, it means I could start a family one day.”
You can learn more about Evie’s story and the remarkable CIRM funded work at UCLA by watching the video below.