Multimodal brain structural and functional analysis in systemic lupus erythematosus patients without overt neuropsychiatric manifestations: associations with disease duration, organ damage, and neurocognitive function.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease that often affects the central nervous system (CNS), leading to structural and functional brain alterations. Although neuroimaging studies have reported significant cortical and white matter changes in SLE, findings remain inconsistent, particularly regarding disease duration and organ damage. This study aimed to comprehensively investigate multimodal brain alterations in SLE using structural and functional neuroimaging.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included 30 SLE patients without overt neuropsychiatric manifestations and 34 age-matched healthy controls (HCs). Neuroimaging data were acquired using a 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Structural analyses included cortical and subco

SUBMITTER: Lee J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12522539 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature