SUSTAINED ATTENTION AND INHIBITORY CONTROL IN CHILDREN WITH SICKLE-CELL SYNDROME

Comparing sustained attention and inhibitory control among youth with sickle cell syndrome (SCS) and nondiseased sibling controls, this stud y found significant differences in multiple components of attention an d inhibitory control as a function of chronological age. Older SCS You th were found to have increased attention and reflectivity. Although i t has been argued that SCS Youth without overt neurological impairment s might evidence microvascular infarction, the present study, which em ployed commonly utilized neurocognitive and behavioral measures, does not lend support to the notion of generalized deficits in the absence of specific laboratory findings. Disease parameters including hemoglob in levels, days hospitalized, and emergency room visits were not signi ficantly correlated with performance on any of the measures. Within th e limitations of this particular study, results were interpreted to re fute the notion of disease-related neurocognitive impairments for SCS youth. Further, the development of attentional skills for SCS youth is suggested to proceed similarly to that of normally developing youth.