Probability Of Tcd-Normalization In The "Drepagreffe" Trial Comparing Transplantation To Chronic Transfusion In Sickle Cell Anemia Children With Abnormal-Transcranial Doppler Is Associated With Lower Ang-2 And Bdnf Plasma Levels

Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is a chronic illness that causes an increased risk of stroke and progressive brain and cognitive dysfunction. SCA-related cerebral vasculopathy includes vascular remodeling, abnormal arterial velocities and infarction. We studied the relationship between cytokines, velocities, and blood parameters in SCA-children enrolled in the “Drepagreffe” trial, a French prospective, Mendelian-randomized trial with 2 arms (transfusions/transplantation) defined by random-availability of a HLA-matched sibling. This trial enrolled SCA-children younger than 15, regularly transfused for abnormal-TCD history, with at least one non-SCA sibling, and parents agreeing to HLA-typing and transplantation. Between 12/2010 and 6/2013, 67 SCA-children (7 with stroke history) were enrolled. Thirty-two had a matched-sibling donor (MSD) and were transplanted, while 35 (no donor) were included in the transfusion arm.