Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disorder involving multiple organs. One of the main sites of SLE morbidity is the central nervous system (CNS), specifically the brain. In this article we review several imaging modalities used for CNS examination in SLE patients. These modalities are categorized as morphological and functional. Special attention is given to magnetic re...

Both central (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS) complications are frequent and varied in connective tissue diseases. A systematic review was conducted between 1989 and 2014 in the databases Medline, Scopus, and Cochrane Library using the search terms, peripheral and central nervous complications and immunological profiles, to identify studies in specific connective tissue disorders such ...

Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus, which often entails cognitive disturbances and memory loss, has become a major complication for lupus patients. Previously, we developed a murine model of neuropsychiatric lupus based on Abs that cross-react with dsDNA and the NMDA receptor (NMDAR). We showed that these murine Abs impair cognition when they access the CNS through a breach in the bl...

BACKGROUND Intravenous cyclophosphamide (IVCY) pulse therapy has been used for lupus nephritis since the latter half of the 1980s; it has been shown to be effective for lupus nephritis and vasculitis and has become a standard therapy for the diffuse proliferative type of lupus nephritis in adults. IVCY therapy has also come to be used in children. This paper reports the long-term outcomes of IV...

OBJECTIVE To assess the significance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) abnormalities in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS Forty-four patients with SLE were retrospectively analysed. Patients were classified into three groups [1 and 2: patients with central nervous system (CNS) manifestations before and after star...

BACKGROUND Previous studies of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a diagnostic tool for central nervous system (CNS) syndromes in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) contained several limitations such as study design, number of enrolled patients, and definition of CNS syndromes. We overcame these problems and statistically evaluated the diagnostic values of abnormal MRI signals and their chrono...

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and computed tomography (CT) are useful for the evaluation of central nervous system (CNS) lupus. This report describes the use of cranial MR and CT in 21 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with acute neuropsychiatric symptoms manifested by headache, seizures, focal neurological deficits, psychosis, or organic brain syndrome. Computed tomography was...

A 24-year-old woman with slowly progressive altered mental status and fevers was found to have multiple brain mass lesions. A characteristic branching vascular pattern on T2* MRI (figure 1D) was key to identifying these mass lesions as vascular in origin. CSF was inflammatory and serologic testing supported the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus with concomitant CNS angiitis affecting de...

Intravenous methylprednisolone pulse therapy in a reduced dose of 10 mg/kg on three consecutive days was successfully used in the treatment of a 9 year old girl with acute cerebral lupus in coma. It is recommended for further evaluation in children with severe primary central nervous system (CNS) disease.