Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, USA.
J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2010 Mar;16(2):326-34. doi: 10.1017/S1355617709991366. Epub 2010 Feb 3.
We investigated the association of increased cerebral blood flow velocity with specific language abilities in children with sickle cell disease (SCD). Thirty-nine children ages 5 to 8 years old with high-risk genotypes of SCD underwent cognitive testing, which included tests of language skills, visual motor skills, and attention/working memory as part of a routine hematology health-maintenance visit. Transcranial Doppler (TCD) velocities were obtained from review of medical records, with the velocities that were in closest temporal proximity to the cognitive assessment used in the analysis. TCD velocities predicted scores on tests of syntactical skills, even when controlling for anemia severity. Semantic and phonological ability and other cognitive skills were not strongly related to TCD velocities. Elevated blood flow velocities in children with high-risk SCD may contribute to a specific language impairment or to a broader dysfunction of short-term and/or working memory. This study underscores the need for clinicians to monitor language skills of children with SCD who have elevated TCD velocities, as these cognitive abilities might be particularly sensitive to cerebrovascular disruption related to their disease.
我们研究了镰状细胞病（SCD）儿童大脑血流速度增加与特定语言能力之间的关系。39 名 5 至 8 岁的儿童具有 SCD 的高危基因型，他们接受了认知测试，其中包括语言技能、视觉运动技能和注意力/工作记忆测试，作为常规血液学健康维护就诊的一部分。经回顾病历获得经颅多普勒（TCD）速度，分析中使用与认知评估最接近的时间的速度。即使在控制贫血严重程度的情况下，TCD 速度也可以预测句法技能测试的分数。语义和语音能力和其他认知技能与 TCD 速度没有很强的相关性。高危 SCD 儿童的血流速度升高可能导致特定的语言障碍或更广泛的短期和/或工作记忆功能障碍。这项研究强调了临床医生需要监测具有升高的 TCD 速度的 SCD 儿童的语言技能，因为这些认知能力可能对与他们的疾病相关的脑血管破坏特别敏感。
