Most common hemoglobinopathy associated with cerebrovascular disease
Approximately one fourth of all patients with sickle cell disease experience cerebrovascular complications; the vast majority are children.
When strokes occur in adults, they are more likely to be intracerebral hemorrhages as opposed to the infarctions that affect children.
In addition to small vessel occlusion by sickled red cells, endothelial proliferation is also thought to be an important mechanism in the genesis of these strokes.