[In Context] News in brief

Stroke and silent cerebral infarcts are common in children with sickle cell anaemia. Although the incidence of silent cerebral infarcts can be reduced with regular blood transfusions, it is unknown whether regular transfusions can prevent the recurrence of an infarct (stroke or new or enlarged silent cerebral infarction). In a multicentre, randomised, single-blind, controlled trial of 196 children aged 5 to 15 years with sickle cell anaemia who had silent cerebral infarcts, 6 of 99 (6%) children who received transfusion therapy had an end-point event (one had stroke and five had new or enlarged silent cerebral infarcts) over a follow-up of 3 years.
Source: Lancet Neurology - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: In Context Source Type: research