Lupus & antiphospholipid syndrome
Multimodal brain structural and functional analysis in systemic lupus erythematosus patients without overt neuropsychiatric manifestations: associations with disease duration, organ damage, and neurocognitive function
Authors' conclusion
Even in the absence of overt neuropsychiatric symptoms, SLE patients demonstrated structural brain changes-specifically reduced occipital and thalamic volumes and widespread white matter disruptions-associated with disease duration, organ damage, and neurocognitive dysfunction. Functional interhemispheric connectivity was globally preserved but impaired in the moderate activity subgroup.
Study context
- Population
- Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients without overt neuropsychiatric manifestations and age-matched healthy controlsDiffusion tensor imaging (DTI) 29 SLE, 28 HC
- Participants
- 30 vs 34
- Exposure
- SLE without overt neuropsychiatric manifestations vs age-matched healthy controls (HCs)
- SLEn = 30
- HCsn = 34reference
- Outcome
- Multimodal brain structural and functional alterations (cortical/subcortical volumes, DTI white matter connectometry, resting-state fMRI interhemispheric functional connectivity)
Methodological detailsage-matched healthy controls, multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (3 T), ANCOVA adjusted for age and intracranial volume
- Age-matched healthy controls
- Multimodal MRI (3 T)
- ANCOVA adjusted for age and intracranial volume
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Reduced right occipital lobe volume in SLE (F = 11.274, η2 = 0.153)
corrected p = .008
Reduced left thalamus volume in SLE (F = 10.502, η2 = 0.140)
corrected p = .028
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Fractional anisotropy (FA) vs disease duration
- FA negatively correlated with disease duration, especially left and right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculi and left cingulum
FA by organ damage
- Further FA reductions in brainstem and left cingulum in patients with organ damage
FA and cognition
- FA decreases associated with poorer cognitive performance
Functional connectivity, moderate disease activity subgroup
- Reduced connectivity in frontal operculum and insula
Original publication
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