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Changes in Regional Brain Morphology in Neuropsychiatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Cagnoli, Patricia C ; Sundgren, Pia LU orcid ; Kairys, Anson ; Graft, Courtney C ; Clauw, Daniel J ; Gebarski, Stephen ; McCune, W Joseph and Schmidt-Wilcke, Tobias (2012) In Journal of Rheumatology 39(5). p.959-967
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:

Neuropsychiatric lupus (NPSLE) is a severe and potentially life-threatening condition, reported to occur in 25%-70% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Brain imaging, especially magnetic resonance imaging, is frequently used to diagnose or exclude overt cerebral pathologies such as edema, hemorrhage, and central thrombosis. More advanced imaging techniques have been applied to demonstrate subtle changes in regional cerebral blood flow and brain structure. We investigated changes in regional gray-matter (GM) volume in SLE patients without neurological manifestations and NPSLE patients at an acute stage of the disease.



METHODS:

Using high-resolution structural images and... (More)
OBJECTIVE:

Neuropsychiatric lupus (NPSLE) is a severe and potentially life-threatening condition, reported to occur in 25%-70% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Brain imaging, especially magnetic resonance imaging, is frequently used to diagnose or exclude overt cerebral pathologies such as edema, hemorrhage, and central thrombosis. More advanced imaging techniques have been applied to demonstrate subtle changes in regional cerebral blood flow and brain structure. We investigated changes in regional gray-matter (GM) volume in SLE patients without neurological manifestations and NPSLE patients at an acute stage of the disease.



METHODS:

Using high-resolution structural images and voxel-based morphometry (VBM), we investigated regional GM volume in 20 NPSLE patients (within 2 weeks of the acute manifestation), 18 SLE patients without neurologic and/or psychiatric manifestations, and 18 healthy controls. RESULTS: VBM analyses revealed several regions of GM atrophy in various parts of the brain in NPSLE and SLE patients. GM atrophy was seen in both groups in the temporal and parietal lobes and was most pronounced in the posterior thalamus bilaterally. Both groups showed an increase in regional GM volume in the posterior parahippocampal gyrus.



CONCLUSION:

Our data suggest that changes in regional brain morphology are present in acute NPSLE, but also in SLE (as compared to controls), which might be indicative of a subclinical neurodegenerative process. Further research is needed to investigate whether specific neuropsychiatric symptoms are related to these changes. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of Rheumatology
volume
39
issue
5
pages
959 - 967
publisher
Journal of Rheumatology Publishing Company Limited
external identifiers
  • wos:000303975300016
  • pmid:22467931
  • scopus:84860766271
  • pmid:22467931
ISSN
0315-162X
DOI
10.3899/jrheum.110833
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
752b195f-e59e-47d8-9e27-0eed17a5da0f (old id 2519976)
alternative location
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22467931?dopt=Abstract
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 08:14:49
date last changed
2022-01-29 03:10:42
@article{752b195f-e59e-47d8-9e27-0eed17a5da0f,
  abstract     = {{OBJECTIVE: <br/><br>
Neuropsychiatric lupus (NPSLE) is a severe and potentially life-threatening condition, reported to occur in 25%-70% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Brain imaging, especially magnetic resonance imaging, is frequently used to diagnose or exclude overt cerebral pathologies such as edema, hemorrhage, and central thrombosis. More advanced imaging techniques have been applied to demonstrate subtle changes in regional cerebral blood flow and brain structure. We investigated changes in regional gray-matter (GM) volume in SLE patients without neurological manifestations and NPSLE patients at an acute stage of the disease. <br/><br>
<br/><br>
METHODS: <br/><br>
Using high-resolution structural images and voxel-based morphometry (VBM), we investigated regional GM volume in 20 NPSLE patients (within 2 weeks of the acute manifestation), 18 SLE patients without neurologic and/or psychiatric manifestations, and 18 healthy controls. RESULTS: VBM analyses revealed several regions of GM atrophy in various parts of the brain in NPSLE and SLE patients. GM atrophy was seen in both groups in the temporal and parietal lobes and was most pronounced in the posterior thalamus bilaterally. Both groups showed an increase in regional GM volume in the posterior parahippocampal gyrus. <br/><br>
<br/><br>
CONCLUSION: <br/><br>
Our data suggest that changes in regional brain morphology are present in acute NPSLE, but also in SLE (as compared to controls), which might be indicative of a subclinical neurodegenerative process. Further research is needed to investigate whether specific neuropsychiatric symptoms are related to these changes.}},
  author       = {{Cagnoli, Patricia C and Sundgren, Pia and Kairys, Anson and Graft, Courtney C and Clauw, Daniel J and Gebarski, Stephen and McCune, W Joseph and Schmidt-Wilcke, Tobias}},
  issn         = {{0315-162X}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{959--967}},
  publisher    = {{Journal of Rheumatology Publishing Company Limited}},
  series       = {{Journal of Rheumatology}},
  title        = {{Changes in Regional Brain Morphology in Neuropsychiatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.110833}},
  doi          = {{10.3899/jrheum.110833}},
  volume       = {{39}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}