Saturation Transfer Neuroimaging Features of Sickle Cell Anemia

The broad symptomatology of sickle cell anemia (SCA) includes severe neurologic complications, such as stroke and cognitive impairment, from a young age in many patients. Evidence suggests that chronic oxygen deprivation leads to alterations in cerebral blood flow, metabolism, and tissue microstructure which contribute to neurologic morbidity. We have proposed that saturation transfer MRI, an imaging modality sensitive to the microstructure and biochemical environment of tissues, could improve our understanding of neurologic pathology in SCA and have potential clinical utility for assessing disease severity. This thesis reports on a preclinical study to characterize saturation transfer neuroimaging features in a mouse model of SCA. The results of this study demonstrate that saturation transfer MRI is sensitive to microstructural and metabolic alterations in the normal-appearing grey matter of SCA mice. These findings warrant further investigation into saturation transfer neuroimaging as a research tool and a clinical biomarker of brain injury in SCA.M.Sc