Suppression of the Hemodynamic Response Function Demonstrates Altered Cerebral Vasoreactivity in Sickle Cell Disease

Introduction: Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) face progressive cognitive decline compared to their unaffected siblings, even prior to the occurrence of stroke, suggesting damage to the underlying functional brain organization. Hence, functional MRI (fMRI) studies are needed to help characterize the pathophysiological basis of cognitive decline in SCD.