Intracranial Blood Flow Velocity in Patients withβ-Thalassemia Intermedia Using Transcranial Doppler Sonography: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

Introduction. Patients with β-thalassemia intermedia have a higher incidence of thromboembolic events compared to the general population. Previous studies have shown that patients with sickle cell disease, who are also prone to ischemic events, have higher intracranial arterial blood flow velocities measured by transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD). The aim of this study is to evaluate intracranial arterial flow velocities in patients with β-thalassemia intermedia and compare the results with those found in healthy subjects. Methods. Sixty-four patients with β-thalassemia intermedia and 30 healthy subjects underwent transcranial Doppler sonography. Results. Significantly higher flow velocities were found in intracranial arteries of patients compared to controls (P = 0.001). Previously splenectomized patients with thrombocytosis showed higher flow velocities than nonsplenectomized patients without thrombosis. Conclusion. The increased flow velocities in patients with β-thalassemia intermedia may point to a higher risk of ischemic events. Preventive measures such as blood transfusion or antiplatelet treatment may be beneficial in these patients.

Intracranial blood flow velocities in patients with sickle cell disease and β‐thalassemia intermedia

“…1 and 2 show that age, in addition to hemoglobin level, has a similar effect in both disease, despite the fact that the linear regression model did not reach statistical significance. The mean MBFV values for TI were also higher than those reported for the normal population [6].…”

“…1 and 2 show that age, in addition to hemoglobin level, has a similar effect in both disease, despite the fact that the linear regression model did not reach statistical significance. The mean MBFV values for TI were also higher than those reported for the normal population [6].Out of the 20 patients with TI, 16 had previous brain MRI with 9 patients having asymptomatic abnormal white matter lesions (silent infarcts). No statistically significant correlation was found between MBFV and the presence or absence of silent infarcts (P 5 0.21).…”

Hypercoagulability in β-thalassemia: a status quo

“…However, there was no association between large-vessel stenosis on magnetic resonance angiography and silent strokes identified on MRI, leaving small arteriolar pathology as the most likely explanation for these silent lesions [49]. This is further confirmed through studies evaluating transcranial Doppler ultrasonography velocities in TI patients [50]. Around the same time, another cross-sectional study was conducted in Iran on 30 randomly selected TI adults who were splenectomized, had a hemoglobin level >70 g/l and a platelet count ≥500 × 10 9 /l.…”

Per‐subject characterization of bolus width in pulsed arterial spin labeling using bolus turbo sampling

“…At a pulse repetition time (TR) of 50 ms in a 5‐mm slice, blood in the arteries crossing the slice is fully replaced at flow speeds above 10 cm/s. This guarantees that fresh blood arrives between subsequent echo‐planar imaging acquisitions in the major feeding arteries of the brain ( V PCA > 20 cm/s (14)). We acquired a total of three BoTuS datasets.…”