Low-frequency fluctuation amplitude analysis of resting-state fMRI in sickle cell disease

Sickle cell disease may result in neurological damage and strokes, leading to morbidity and mortality. Currently, there are no dependable biomarkers to predict impending strokes. In this study, we analyzed neuronal processes at resting state and more particularly how this disease affects the default mode network. The amplitude of low frequency fluctuations was used to reflect areas of spontaneous BOLD signal across brain regions. We compared the activations of sickle cell disease patients to a control group using variance analysis and t-test. Significant regional differences among the two groups were observed, especially in the default mode network areas and cortical regions near large cerebral arteries. These findings suggest that sickle cell disease causes activation modifications near vessels, and these changes could be used as a biomarker of the disease.