title: Alterations of white matter structural networks in patients with non-neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus identified by probabilistic tractography and connectivity-based analyses.
abstract: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory female-predominant autoimmune disease that can affect the central nervous system and exhibit neuropsychiatric symptoms. In SLE patients without neuropsychiatric symptoms (non-NPSLE), recent diffusion tensor imaging studies showed white matter abnormalities in their brains. The present study investigated the entire brain white matter structural connectivity in non-NPSLE patients by using probabilistic tractography and connectivity-based analyses.
  
  
  
  Whole-brain structural networks of 29 non-NPSLE patients and 29 healthy controls (HCs) were examined. The structural networks were constructed with interregional probabilistic connectivity. Graph theory analysis was performed to investigate the topological properties, and network-based statistic was employed to assess the alterations of the interregional connections among non-NPSLE patients and controls.
  
  
  
  Compared with HCs, non-NPSLE patients demonstrated significantly decreased global and local network efficiencies and showed increased characteristic path length. This finding suggests that the global integration and local specialization were impaired. Moreover, the regional properties (nodal efficiency and degree) in the frontal, occipital, and cingulum regions of the non-NPSLE patients were significantly changed and negatively correlated with the disease activity index. The distribution pattern of the hubs measured by nodal degree was altered in the patient group. Finally, the non-NPSLE group exhibited decreased structural connectivity in the left median cingulate-centered component and increased connectivity in the left precuneus-centered component and right middle temporal lobe-centered component.
  
  
  
  This study reveals an altered topological organization of white matter networks in non-NPSLE patients. Furthermore, this research provides new insights into the structural disruptions underlying the functional and neurocognitive deficits in non-NPSLE patients.
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Image Processing, School of Biomedical Engineering, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Man
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging Center, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xiangliang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Image Processing, School of Biomedical Engineering, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xinyuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Image Processing, School of Biomedical Engineering, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yihao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Image Processing, School of Biomedical Engineering, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China; Philips Healthcare, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yingjie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mei
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Image Processing, School of Biomedical Engineering, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Qianjin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging Center, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yikai
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Image Processing, School of Biomedical Engineering, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yanqiu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feng
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D066127:White Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Diffusion tensor imaging; Graph theory; Non-neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus; Probabilistic tractography; White matter