Nine subjects with sickle cell disease were treated with Piracetam in the dosage of 80mg/kg p.o. divided into four doses per day for a period of 5 months and with placebo for a similar period on a double-blind crossover basis. The number of pain crises during the treatment period was significantly less than the number of attacks during the placebo period. Red blood cell survival measured in seven patients failed to show any significant change during the administration of Piracetam. These results suggest that Piracetam may be a useful drug in the amelioration of pain crises in sickle cell anemia.