Abstract
Red cell rigidity is common in sickle cell disease (SCD). The contribution of oxidative stress on deformability remains unknown. This study investigated red blood cell (RBC) vitamin C concentrations in pediatric SCD (n=43) compared with healthy controls ( n =23) and developed a protocol to raise RBC vitamin C concentrations to measure the effect on deformability. Sickle cell RBC vitamin C concentrations seem low (20.5 μM, SD: 16.2 vs. 51.7 μM, SD: 15.8; P <0.0001). Vitamin C can be successfully loaded into sickle cell RBCs but seems to have minimal effect on deformability. Future studies are needed to understand the clinical implications of vitamin C deficiency in pediatric SCD.