Sickle cell diseases: current therapeutic options and potential pitfalls in preventive therapy for transcranial Doppler abnormalities

Sickle cell disease is an important and common hemoglobinopathy that is highly prevalent worldwide. Recent clinical research has clarified the natural history, and newer, exciting therapeutic maneuvers have been developed, including stem cell transplantation, a curative, albeit toxic strategy. There is a need for early identification of a severe disease profile so that these newer therapeutic interventions can be offered before severe organ damage occurs. Investigative methodologic research by radiologists to discover early organ damage can be important to successful planning of treatment protocols. Stroke is one complication, which, if diagnosed early, can be satisfactorily managed with more aggressive therapy. The advent of transcranial Doppler and MRI have greatly increased the ability to detect early CNS disease.