Frequent Vaso-occlusive Crises Alter Brain Network Connectivity in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited hemolytic disorder complicated by acute vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs) that are associated with extremely painful episodes that frequently require hospitalization and opioids for pain control. We previously reported significant correlations between resting state functional connectivity (fs-rc) and number of hospitalizations associated with VOCs (Darbari, 2015). Eight-minute rs-fc and high-resolution T1w structural scans were collected from 22 patients aged 14-73 yrs old.
Source: The Journal of Pain - Category: Materials Science Authors: Source Type: research