Lupus & antiphospholipid syndrome
Cortical changes in women with systemic lupus erythematosus with mild cognitive impairment: a voxel-based morphometry and surface-based morphometry study
Authors' conclusion
WSLE patients with MCI have brain morphological changes such as reduced GMV, thinning CT, reduced FD and increased GI.
Study context
- Population
- Women with SLE with or without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and normal conventional MRI, and women healthy controls
- Participants
- 26 / 36 / 36
- Exposure
- Women with SLE with MCI vs women with SLE without MCI vs women healthy controls
- Women systemic lupus erythematosus (wSLE) with MCIn = 26
- wSLE without MCIn = 36
- Women healthy control (wHC)n = 36reference
- Outcome
- Grey matter morphological changes (GMV, cortical thickness, fractal dimension, gyration index, sulcus depth)
Methodological detailsvoxel-based morphometry, surface-based morphometry
- Voxel-based morphometry
- Surface-based morphometry
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Brain morphological indicators
- wSLE with MCI vs wSLE without MCI: significant decrease in fractal dimension (FD) of the left lateral orbitofrontal gyrus
- Both wSLE with and without MCI vs wHC: reduced GM volume (GMV) in the medial right superior frontal gyrus
- Both wSLE with and without MCI vs wHC: thinner cortex in the left paracentral and postcentral gyrus and the right pars triangularis and superior frontal gyrus
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Correlation of Mini-Mental State Examination score with brain morphology (within wSLE)
- Positive correlation with GMV in the middle of right superior frontal gyrus and with FD of the left lateral orbitofrontal gyrus
Original publication
Cortical changes in women with systemic lupus erythematosus with mild cognitive impairment: a voxel-based morphometry and surface-based morphometry study. Lupus Sci Med. Published 14 September 2025. doi:10.
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