QST-Pupillometry in Sickle Cell Disease Patients
QST-Pupillometry in Sickle Cell Disease Patients
There has been little progress for effective treatment of pain in sickle cell disease (SCD)
 patients. Many organizations have recognized that understanding the causes and reducing the
 burden of pain in SCD is critical in order to improve the quality of life in SCD patients. As
 patients with SCD face the challenge of living with both acute and chronic pain which is
 often improperly treated, our translational and interdisciplinary project aims to identify
 objective measures of pain sensitivity and its biochemical and genetic correlates. We
 hypothesize that SCD patients will have decreased tolerance to thermal and electrical
 stimuli.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  SCD with severe phenotype (HbSS, HbSbeta0 thalassemia, HbSOArab)

 -  Relatives of SCD patients who do not have sickle cell trait or SCD; healthy controls

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Completed overt clinical stroke or transient ischemic attack;

 -  Known severe vasculopathy or Moyamoya disease on brain MRA (Magnetic Resonance
 Angiography).

 -  history of having consumed alcohol within the last 12 hours prior to testing.