Advanced

AJNR - American Journal of Neuroradiology

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Steen, R. G. Articles by Reddick, W. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Steen, R. G. Articles by Reddick, W. E.

American Journal of Neuroradiology 26:455-462, March 2005
© 2005 American Society of Neuroradiology

PEDIATRICS

Brain Volume in Pediatric Patients with Sickle Cell Disease: Evidence of Volumetric Growth Delay?

R. Grant Steen^a, Temitope Emudianughe^a, Michael Hunte^a, John Glass^a, Shengjie Wu^b, Xiaoping Xiong^b and Wilburn E. Reddick^a

^a Department of Radiological Sciences, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN
^b Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN

Address correspondence to R. Grant Steen, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 7160, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7160; e-mail: Grant_Steen{at}med.unc.edu

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Despite the large body of data available about somatic growth delay in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), virtually nothing is known about the effect of the disease on volumetric growth of the brain. This study was designed to test a hypothesis that children with SCD have a disease-related delay in brain volumetric growth compared with healthy children.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was used to evaluate 83 children with SCD and 43 age-similar healthy children, including 27 patient siblings. Brain volume was measured by segmenting and classifying MR imaging data, by using at least three separate image sets (T1-, T2-, and proton density-weighted MR images). A linear model was used to compare the various brain volumes with the covariates of group (patient versus control) and age, with age treated as a continuous variable.

RESULTS: With age controlled for, no significant difference was noted in total brain volume between patients and control subjects at age 9.5 years. However, patients showed a deficit specifically in gray matter volume (P = .005), without significant differences in white matter or ventricular volume. The deficit in patient gray matter was greater in central gray matter (P < .005) than in cortical gray matter (P < .02). In healthy control subjects, gray matter volume decreased significantly with age (P < .005), probably due to myelination of white matter tracts. In patients with SCD, gray matter volume did not change with age.

CONCLUSION: Volumetric growth of brain gray matter may be delayed in children with SCD, suggesting that there may be neurodevelopmental consequences of this disease.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. M. Hogan, F. Vargha-Khadem, D. E. Saunders, F. J. Kirkham, and T. Baldeweg Impact of frontal white matter lesions on performance monitoring: ERP evidence for cortical disconnection Brain, August 1, 2006; 129(8): 2177 - 2188. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]