Assessing grey matter structural alterations in systemic lupus erythematosus using synthetic MRI

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Rheumatology
• Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

• Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that can affect the central nervous system.
• Neuropsychiatric manifestations are common in SLE, impacting cognitive function and mood.
• Understanding brain alterations in SLE is crucial for diagnosis and management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate brain grey matter alterations in SLE patients using synthetic MRI (SyMRI).
• To correlate these structural changes with neuropsychological test performance.
• To explore the relationship between grey matter changes, cognitive function, and disease activity in SLE.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study enrolling SLE patients and healthy controls (HC).
• Brain MRI using SyMRI for grey matter mapping and neuropsychological testing (MMSE, MoCA, etc.).
• Correlation analysis between SyMRI metrics, cognitive scores, and disease markers.

Main Results:

• SLE patients exhibited reduced grey matter volume compared to HC.
• NPSLE group showed increased T1/T2 relaxation times in grey matter.
• Lower cognitive scores (MMSE/MoCA) correlated with increased T1/T2 in specific brain regions.
• Higher depression scores (SDS) correlated with increased T1/T2 in the left calcarine fissure.
• Brain changes linked to SLE disease activity and inflammatory markers.

Conclusions:

• Grey matter alterations are present in SLE patients.
• These structural changes correlate significantly with cognitive impairment and depression.
• SyMRI is a valuable tool for assessing brain involvement in SLE.