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A partial transplant of bone-marrow stem cells may reverse sickle cell disease in adults, a new study finds. People with sickle cell disease have abnormally shaped red blood cells. They get stuck in blood vessels. This causes organ damage, pain and other medical problems. The new study included 30 adults with severe sickle cell disease. Each of them had a brother or sister who was a suitable match for a bone-marrow stem cell transplant. The sibling donor’s cells were mixed with some of the patient’s own cells. During 3.4 years of follow-up, the partial transplant reversed sickle cell disease in 26 out of 30 people, researchers said. In these patients, the bone marrow began making normal red blood cells. Fifteen people also were able to stop taking drugs to prevent rejection of the transplant.

Women don’t need annual pelvic exams, a large group of primary-care doctors says. The American College of Physicians (ACP) says there is no good evidence that the exams provide a benefit. But the group does endorse regular screening tests for cervical cancer. These tests are recommended every 3 to 5 years. The new guideline applies to average women who are not pregnant and do not have symptoms of a problem. Pelvic exams are intended to look for infections, cancers and other problems in the reproductive organs. But research doesn’t show that these exams are any good at finding these problems, an ACP committee found. Three studies on ovarian cancer found that pelvic exams did not help to detect it. One of the studies found that 1.5% of women ended up having surgery they did not need. Several studies looked at harms from regular pelvic exams.