Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus: Magnetic resonance imaging findings and correlation with clinical and immunological features

Neuropsychiatric (NP) syndromes are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The aims of this work were to describe the brain abnormalities in a group of SLE patients during their first episode of NP manifestations using a conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique and to investigate the possible correlation between these findings and the clinical and immunological characteristics of these patients.We performed an observational retrospective cross-sectional study that included all patients with NP symptoms who underwent MRI at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona between the years 2003 and 2012 because of suspecting NP syndromes due to SLE (NPSLE).We studied 43 patients in which 11 types of NPSLE were present, being headache the most frequent, followed by cerebrovascular disease, epileptic crises and cranial neuropathy. A statistically significant association was found between myelopathy and low complement (C4) levels (p = 0.035) and disease activity measured as SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) > 4 (p = 0.00006). Eighteen (41.9%) patients presented MRI abnormalities. We found an association between myelopathy and the presence of inflammatory or mixed (vascular and inflammatory) type lesions (p = 0.003). This pattern was also associated with a high SLEDAI score (p = 0.002) and low complement (CH50) levels (p = 0.032). We found no relationship between MRI changes and age, time of evolution, or the presence of antiphospholipid or anti-dsDNA antibodies.These results suggest that MRI, although it is the imaging modality of choice in the present moment, by itself does not establish or exclude the diagnosis of NPSLE. In addition, the presence of certain disease activity features (SLEDAI and low complement levels) seems to be associated with the presence of an inflammatory pattern on MRI.