Sickle cell disease and stroke

Twenty-four percent of sickle cell disease (SCD) patients have a stroke by the age of 45 years. Blood transfusions decrease stroke risk in patients deemed high risk by transcranial Doppler. However, transcranial Doppler has poor specificity, and transfusions are limited by alloimmunization and iron overload. Transfusion withdrawal may be associated with an increased rebound stroke risk. Extended blood typing decreases alloimmunization in SCD but is not universally adopted. Transfusions for thalassemia begun in early childhood are associated with lower rates of alloimmunization than are seen in SCD, suggesting immune tolerance. Optimal oxygen transport efficiency occurs at a relatively low hematocrit for SCD patients because of hyperviscosity. Consequently, exchange rather than simple transfusions are more effective in improving oxygen transport efficiency, but the former are technically more demanding and require more blood units. Although viscosity is of importance in the noncerebral manifestations of SCD, inflammation may play a larger role than viscosity in the development of large-vessel stroke. The future of SCD stroke management lies in the avoidance of transfusion. Hydroxyurea and anti-inflammatory measures may reduce the need for transfusion. Recent genome-wide association studies may provide methods for modulating fetal hemoglobin production enough to attenuate stroke risk and other complications of SCD. (Blood. 2009; 114: 5117-5125)