[Use of magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate morphological disorders in the brains of patients with sickle cell anaemia]. / Evaluación de las afecciones morfológicas en el cerebro de pacientes con anemia de células falciformes con el uso de imágenes de resonancia magnética.

INTRODUCTION: Blocked blood flow in the brain of patients with sickle cell anaemia (SCA) gives rise to disorders in this organ and, occasionally, courses with no clinical symptoms. AIMS: Our objective was to determine the most common lesions in the brains of patients with SCA in the eastern region of Cuba. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a study with children and adults with SCA, who were voluntarily included in the research protocol. The 28 adult patients had no history of vaso-occlusive crises of the central nervous system, and their ages ranged from 17 to 48 years. In addition, 50 paediatric-aged patients between the ages of 2 and 17 years were evaluated. Images were obtained with the Cuban magnetic resonance imaging equipment Giroimag 01 at 0.05 T. RESULTS: Both studies showed that cortical atrophy (CA) is the most frequent brain lesion among those found in the population of patients evaluated. The study revealed 35.7% of patients with silent lesions in adults and 18% in the children. CONCLUSIONS: CA is the lesion that is most commonly seen in the population studied. The brain lesions that were found are possibly triggered by the effect of blockages in the blood flow in the brain. A population study must be conducted in order to determine the first disorders triggered by the blocked blood flow in the brains of these patients. There is also a need to evaluate the possible risk factors that favour the development of these lesions.

Evaluación de las afecciones morfológicas en el cerebro de pacientes con anemia de células falciformes con el uso de imágenes de resonancia magnética / Use of magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate morphological disorders in the brains of patients with sickle cell anaemia

Introducción. La oclusión del flujo de sangre en el cerebro de los pacientes con anemia de células falciformes (ACF) provoca afecciones en este órgano, y en ocasiones transcurren sin síntomas clínicos. Objetivo. Encontrar las lesiones más comunes en el cerebro de pacientes con ACF de la región oriental de Cuba. Pacientes y métodos. Estudio de niños y adultos con ACF, incluidos voluntariamente en el protocolo de investigación. Los 28 pacientes adultos no tenían antecedentes de crisis vasooclusivas del sistema nervioso central, y sus edades estaban comprendidas entre 17 y 48 años. Se evaluaron 50 pacientes en edad pediátrica, entre los 2 y los 17 años. Las imágenes se obtuvieron con el equipo cubano de imágenes de resonancia magnética Giroimag ® 01 a 0,05 T. Resultados. Ambos estudios mostraron que la atrofia cortical es la lesión cerebral más frecuente de las encontradas en la población de pacientes evaluados. El estudio refleja un 35,7 por ciento de pacientes con lesiones silenciosas en los adultos y un 18 por ciento en los niños. Conclusiones. La atrofia cortical es la lesión que más se manifiesta dentro de la población estudiada. Las lesiones cerebrales encontradas pueden ser provocadas por el efecto de la oclusión de la circulación sanguínea en el cerebro. Es necesario desarrollar un estudio de población para determinar las primeras afecciones provocadas por la oclusión del flujo sanguíneo en el cerebro de estos pacientes. También se deben evaluar los posibles factores de riesgo que favorecen el desarrollo de estas lesiones (AU)

Introduction. Blocked blood flow in the brain of patients with sickle cell anaemia (SCA) gives rise to disorders in this organ and, occasionally, courses with no clinical symptoms. Aims. Our objective was to determine the most common lesions in the brains of patients with SCA in the eastern region of Cuba. Patients and methods. We conducted a study with children and adults with SCA, who were voluntarily included in the research protocol. The 28 adult patients had no history of vaso-occlusive crises of the central nervous system, and their ages ranged from 17 to 48 years. In addition, 50 paediatric-aged patients between the ages of 2 and 17 years were evaluated. Images were obtained with the Cuban magnetic resonance imaging equipment Giroimag ® 01 at 0.05 T. Results. Both studies showed that cortical atrophy (CA) is the most frequent brain lesion among those found in the population of patients evaluated. The study revealed 35.7% of patients with silent lesions in adults and 18% in the children. Conclusions. CA is the lesion that is most commonly seen in the population studied. The brain lesions that were found are possibly triggered by the effect of blockages in the blood flow in the brain. A population study must be conducted in order to determine the first disorders triggered by the blocked blood flow in the brains of these patients. There is also a need to evaluate the possible risk factors that favour the development of these lesions (AU)