Kapustin D, et al. - In patients with sickle cell anaemia (SCA), researchers evaluated the link between microstructural properties of the white matter (WM) and both cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) and cerebral blood flow, as well as determined how these links are influenced by hydroxycarbamide treatment. Hydroxycarbamide-treated patients vs untreated patients had increased mean CVR. Moreover, increased skew and kurtosis of mean diffusivity histograms in the WM was observed among SCA patients vs hydroxycarbamide-treated patients and healthy age-matched controls, suggesting disruption of WM integrity. Healthy controls, but neither of the two SCA groups, showed a significant linear link between CVR and mean diffusivity (MD) histogram skew and kurtosis in regression analysis of CVR and WM MD. Overall, white matter MD histogram parameters possessed by patients treated with hydroxycarbamide more closely resembled those of healthy controls.