Convulsions or Stroke

A baby born with sickle cell disease is 250 to 400 times more likely to have seizures during childhood than the general population. As with other areas of the body, the reason behind these seizures is both a lack of oxygen-rich blood and blockages brought on by mutated, rigid blood cells. By age eight, most children have developed cerebral infarcts; meaning parts of brain tissue have died due to a lack of oxygen.

As patient’s age, other health risks become more prevalent. On average, by age 25 most SCD patient’s will experience some hemorrhaging in the brain and by age 40, roughly 32 percent of patient’s living with sickle cell disease will have some form of stroke. Often, seizures are linked to dehydration or a variety of bacterial or viral infections. Once the cause of seizure is known, treatment can begin and ranges from taking folic acid supplements to medicine’s such as Warfarin and Heparin and in some cases, bone marrow transplants.