title: Cognitive function in a systemic lupus erythematosus inception cohort.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Measurable cognitive impairment occurs in 30-75% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We compared cognitive functioning in recently-diagnosed SLE patients and normal controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM), a repeatable computerized cognitive battery assessing cognitive processing speed and efficiency, was administered to 111 recently diagnosed SLE patients and 79 normal controls. Throughput scores on ANAM subtests were compared using linear regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, and education, SLE patients scored significantly lower than controls on throughput measures of 4 ANAM subtests: code substitution immediate recall (p = 0.02), continuous performance (p = 0.02), matching to sample (p = 0.02), and Sternberg subtest (p = 0.0002).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Recently diagnosed SLE patients performed significantly worse than normal controls on 4 of 9 ANAM subtests. ANAM subtests of cognitive efficiency requiring sustained attention/vigilance, visuospatial span of attention/working memory, and simple reaction time showed the greatest impairment. These cognitive deficits were particularly striking, because the SLE patients in this sample were not selected for the presence of neuropsychiatric manifestations, had mild SLE-related disease/damage, and were recently diagnosed with SLE. This suggests that deficits in cognitive efficiency and sustained attention are present early in the course of SLE and in the absence of other significant neuropsychiatric manifestations.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. mpetri@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Petri
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Naqibuddin
authors.forename: Kathryn A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Carson
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sampedro
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.forename: Michael H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Weisman
authors.forename: Stephen L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Holliday
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Padilla
authors.forename: Robin L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Brey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests