[MRI of central nervous system in a series of 58 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with or without overt neuropsychiatric manifestations].
OBJECTIVE
Central nervous (CNS) involvement in SLE is common and can be evaluated with MRI. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate with high-field MRI the CNS involvement in a series of SLE patients with or without neuropsychiatric symptoms. The secondary goal was to detect a possible relationship between MRI and clinical or biological parameters in SLE.


METHODS
We correlated the clinical and biological parameters of 58 patients with a lupus defined according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria, including 30 with neuropsychiatric manifestations with conventional and modern MRI (including diffusion weighted-images, high-resolution 3D T1 weighted-images). The population studied was compared to a group of 18 normal controls.


RESULTS
In 69% of cases, MRI demonstrated involvement of the CNS both in asymptomatic patients (64.3%) and in patients with neuropsychiatric manifestations (73.3%): microembolic signals, cerebral infarctions (associated with the anti-phospholipid syndrome), atrophy, basal ganglia involvement, posterior leucoencephalopathy, subcortical calcification or hemosiderin deposits (T2*), dilated perivascular spaces.


CONCLUSIONS
MRI with adapted sequences clearly demonstrated the cerebral involvement in approximately 70% of SLE patients with or without neuropsychiatric symptoms.
Cotton
F
F
Service de radiologie, centre hospitalier Lyon-Sud, 69495 Pierre-Bénite, France. francois.cotton@chu-lyon.fr
Bouffard-Vercelli
J
J
Hermier
M
M
Tebib
J
J
Vital Durand
D
D
Tran Minh
V A
VA
Rousset
H
H
D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies