title: Brain white matter structural networks in patients with non-neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: Previous neuroimaging studies have revealed cognitive dysfunction in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and suggested that it may be related to disrupted brain white matter (WM) connectivity. However, no study has examined the topological properties of brain WM structural networks in SLE patients, especially in patients with non-neuropsychiatric SLE (non-NPSLE). In this study, we acquired DTI datasets from 28 non-NPSLE patients and 24 healthy controls, constructed their brain WM structural networks by using a deterministic fiber tracking approach, estimated the topological parameters of their structural networks, and compared their group differences. We reached the following results: 1) At the global level, the non-NPSLE patients showed significantly increased characteristic path length, normalized clustering coefficient and small-worldness, but significantly decreased global efficiency and local efficiency compared to the controls; 2) At the nodal level, the non-NPSLE patients had significantly decreased nodal efficiency in regions related to movement control, executive control, and working memory (bilateral precentral gyri, bilateral middle frontal gyri, bilateral inferior parietal lobes, left median cingulate gyrus and paracingulate gyrus, and right middle temporal gyrus). In addition, to pinpointing the injured WM fiber tracts in the non-NPSLE patients, we reconstructed the major brain WM pathways connecting the abnormal regions at the nodal level with the corticospinal tract (CST), superior longitudinal fasciculus-parietal terminations (SLFP), and superior longitudinal fasciculus-temporal terminations (SLFT). By analyzing the diffusion parameters along these WM fiber pathways, we detected abnormal diffusion parameters in the bilateral CST and right SLFT in the non-NPSLE patients. These results seem to indicate that injured brain WM connectivity exists in SLE patients even in the absence of neuropsychiatric symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, Brain Study Institute, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging Center, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiangliang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, Brain Study Institute, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Junjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, Brain Study Institute, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Meiqi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, Brain Study Institute, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiaojin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging Center, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xixi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, Brain Study Institute, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging Center, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, People's Republic of China. yikaivip@163.com.
authors.forename: Yikai
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, Brain Study Institute, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People's Republic of China. ruiwang.huang@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ruiwang
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D066127:White Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI); Fractional anisotropy (FA); Fronto-parietal network; Working memory network