Though numbers were small, RBCs from patients with reported priapism and hemoglobin desaturation in vivo showed increased hypoxia enhanced adhesion in vitro (P = .013), Ms. Quinn said. These was no significant difference between adhesion in normoxic and hypoxic conditions for the patients without priapism.
Future directions of work with the biochip include prospective identification of desaturation events and better characterization of nocturnal symptoms, Ms. Quinn said. The investigators also plan to see whether treatment with supplemental oxygen affects RBC adhesion.
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the National Science Foundation. Two coauthors have filed an international patent for the biochip technology.