The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) will hold a press conference on Thursday, September 18, 1997, at 10:00 a.m. to announce the results of an important clinical trial involving the prevention of strokes in children with sickle cell anemia.

The NHLBI is also issuing a clinical alert to U.S. physicians who treat children with sickle cell anemia.

The press conference will be held in the Franklin Square Room at the Grand Hyatt, Washington, 1000 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001.

It is being held in conjunction with a major national conference on sickle cell disease, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the NHLBI and the 25th Anniversary of its Sickle Cell Disease Program. The conference is scheduled for Thursday, September 18th, through Saturday, September 20th, at the Grand Hyatt, Washington.

Conference speakers include: Dr. Francis S. Collins, Director, National Institute for Human Genome Research, NIH; Dr. Marilyn H. Gaston, Assistant Surgeon General and Director, Bureau of Primary Care, DHHS; NHLBI Director Dr. Claude Lenfant; Dr. Ronald Nagel, Professor of Medicine, Albert Einstein University, NY; Dr. David Nathan, President, Dana Farber Cancer Center, Boston; Dr. Arthur Neinhuis, President, St. Jude's Hospital, Memphis; Dr. David Satcher, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. George Stamapoyannopoulos, Professor of Medicine, University of Seattle; and Dr. Louis Sullivan, President, Morehouse Medical College, Atlanta.

For a copy of the conference program, call the NHLBI SCD Program at (301) 435-0055.