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412-692-7192 Phone

412-692-7693 Fax

Lakshmanan Krishnamurti, MD

Job Title Clinical Director, Hematology

Job Title Director, Comprehensive Hemoglobinopathy Program

Job Title Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation

4401 Penn Avenue, Suite Floor 9

Pittsburgh, PA 15224

412-692-7192 Phone

412-692-7693 Fax

Email lakshmanan.krishnamurti@chp.edu

Patient Appointment Information

Profile
Active Research Projects

Education and Training

Medical School:	1987 Naval Hospital, Bombay University, Bombay, India
Residency:	1998 University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn.
Fellowship:	1997 University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn.

Memberships

American Society of Hematology
American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
American Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation

Board Certifications

American Board of Pediatrics
American Board of Pediatrics, Sub-board of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

Awards

"Ajit Gharpure Award" for excellence in Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Poona University, Pune, India

Publications

Nouraie M, Lee JS, Zhang Y, Kanias T, Zhao X, Xiong Z, Oriss TB, Zeng Q, Kato GJ, Gibbs JS, Hildesheim ME, Sachdev V, Barst R, Machado R, Hassell KL, Little JA, Schraufnagel DE, Krishnamurti L, Novelli E, Girgis RE, Morris C, Rosenzweig EB, Badesch DB, Lanzkron S, Castro O, Goldsmith JC, Gordeuk V, Gladwin MT. The relationship between the severity of hemolysis, clinical manifestations and risk of death in 415 patients with sickle cell anemia in the US and Europe. Haematologica. 2012 Sep 14.
Gheorghe G, Galambos C, Jain S, Krishnamurti L, Jaffe R. A novel TCIRG1 gene mutation leads to severe osteopetrosis with altered content of monocytes/macrophages in several organs. Pediatr Dev Pathol. 2012 Mar-Apr;15(2):156-9.
Dovey S, Krishnamurti L, Sanfilippo J, Gunawardena S, Mclendon P, Campbell M, Alway S, Efymow B, Gracia C. Oocyte cryopreservation in a patient with sickle cell disease prior to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: first report. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2012 Mar;29(3):265-9.

View Dr. Krishnamurti's full list of publications from PubMed.

Research Interests

Sickle Cell Disease and Thalassemia
Dr. Lakshmanan Krishnamurti’s clinical research is focused on developing newer, gentler types of bone marrow transplantation for patients with inherited blood disorders, such as sickle cell disease and Thalassemia. Most often, stem cell transplantation is used to treat cancer. However, BMT is the only procedure that can cure sickle cell disease, a blood disorder affecting more than 50,000 Americans.

Children with sickle cell disease have crescent-shaped, sticky, rigid red blood cells that obstruct blood flow and decrease the amount of oxygen reaching their organs, which causes frequent pain crises. Eventual outcomes include organ shutdown and, on average, a 30-year loss of life expectancy. Approximately 60 BMTs for sickle cell disease have been performed in the United States in the last 10 years because the stringent criteria and stigma of BMT - that it is an intensive treatment requiring weeks of hospitalization - kept patients away.

To increase the number of sickle cell patients undergoing BMT, the procedure had to be made safer and less toxic. Researchers, such as Dr. Krishnamurti, have learned that BMT becomes less toxic when large doses of immunosuppressive medications are given before transplant, instead of high doses of chemotherapy. This reduced intensity conditioning reduces many of the risks and side effects associated with BMT.

Dr. Krishnamurti performed the first successful BMT using such a reduced intensity conditioning regimen on an 8-year old girl with sickle cell disease. Ultimately, it is hoped that such reduced intensity conditioning regimens will make BMT available to many more patients with sickle cell disease and Thalassemia.

Other Research Interests

Hemoglobinopathies clinical and molecular epidemiologic aspects
Newborn screening and counseling for hemoglobinopathies
Novel approaches to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for hemoglobinopathies
Lymphoproliferative disorder following solid organ and bone marrow transplantation
Non-myeloablative HSCT for malignant and non-malignant disorders
Role of allochimerism in tolerization to transplanted solid organs
Role of Bioinformatics systems in clinical care and research in sickle cell disease

Active Research Projects / Grants

Principal Investigator, A Phase II/II study of Sildenafil for the treatment of sickle cell disease, associated pulmonary hypertension
Principal Investigator, "Western Pennsylvania Sickle Cell Network: An Integrated System of Care for the Enhancement of Newborn Screening Follow-Up"
Principal Investigator, "Newborn Screening Follow-Up and comprehensive care for Sickle cell disease in region 3 of Pennsylvania"
Site Principal Investigator, "Deferoxamine in sickle cell disease patients with transfusional hemosiderosis"
Site Principal Investigator, "Safety of ICL670 in Sickle Cell Patients with Iron Overload"
Site Principal Investigator, "Safety of ICA-17043 with or without Hydroxyurea"
Site Principal Investigator, "Randomized study of Inhaled Nitric Oxide for the treatment of sickle cell associated vasocclusive pain crises"

Last Update
March 21, 2013

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