White matter abnormalities and working memory impairment in systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: Many patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have working memory deficits. Few studies have evaluated working memory performance and neurometabolite profile using magnetic resonance spectroscopy in SLE. METHODS: We gave the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), a measure of working memory, to 73 patients with SLE. We calculated total score, dyads, chunking, and cognitive fatigue. Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we determined the ratio of choline to creatine (Ch/Cr) in normal-looking right and left frontal lobe white matter. RESULTS: Twenty-nine percent of patients showed impaired working memory on the PASAT. Total PASAT score inversely correlated with right and left frontal white matter Ch/Cr. Left frontal white matter Ch/Cr correlated with percent chunking and inversely correlated with total and percent dyads. Right frontal white matter Ch/Cr correlated with percent chunking and inversely correlated with total and percent dyads. There was no relationship between cognitive fatigue and either left or right frontal white matter Ch/Cr. Longer disease duration was associated with higher left frontal white matter Ch/Cr. Correlations remained significant when we considered disease duration and left frontal white matter Ch/Cr against total PASAT score and total dyads. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with SLE were impaired on the PASAT. Lower total PASAT score and fewer dyads correlated with higher left frontal microstructural white matter damage, while cognitive fatigue did not. This pattern suggests that early white matter damage interferes with working memory in SLE and provides further insight into the neurobiological basis of mild cognitive dysfunction related to microstructural white matter injury.

Cognition, MRS neurometabolites, and MRI volumetrics in non-neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus: preliminary data.

OBJECTIVE: To correlate cognitive dysfunction with structural and neurometabolic brain findings in patients with non-neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (non-NPSLE). BACKGROUND: Over 25% of non-NPSLE patients have cognitive dysfunction, but the cerebral basis of this observation is not well understood. METHOD: Seven patients with non-NPSLE and seven control subjects were given a series of neuropsychological tests and neuroimaging with magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Analyses of cognitive function and structural and neurometabolic measures of the brain were performed. RESULTS: Compared with controls, the non-NPSLE patients were significantly impaired on a global cognitive impairment index (CII). No significant differences between the groups were found in choline/creatine (Ch/Cr), N-acetylaspartic acid/Cr, or hippocampal volumes. Ch/Cr was highly associated with CII across the sample. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to correlate cognitive impairment with an increase in Ch/Cr ratio among patients with SLE. These results, although preliminary, suggest that changes in cerebral white matter may be important in determining the subtle cognitive impairment that may occur in patients with SLE, even in the absence of neuropsychiatric symptoms.