Silent Infarcts in Children With Sickle Cell Anemia and Abnormal Cerebral Artery Velocity

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Abstract
THE PRESENCE of a structural defect in the brain in patients with sickle cell disease that is without associated neurologic symptoms or evidence of stroke has been termed "silent infarct." These lesions have been found in 17% of the children with sickle cell anemia (HbSS).1 Some investigators have objected to designating such lesions as silent, in view of their association with various neuropsychological abnormalities,2,3 but the terminology persists because stroke is usually defined on the basis of clinical rather than radiological findings. A previous report suggested that the presence of clinically silent brain lesions predicted the development of both new silent lesions and clinical strokes.4