Internal Medicine
Online ISSN : 1349-7235
Print ISSN : 0918-2918
ISSN-L : 0918-2918
Asymptomatic Cerebrovascular Lesions Detected by Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Lacking a History of Neuropsychiatric Events
Kumiko NOMURAShigeru YAMANOYukiko IKEDAHideki YAMADATakashi FUJIMOTOShigetoshi MINAMIRie FUKUIMinoru TAKAOKAYuta YAMAMOTOKazuhiro DOHI
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1999 Volume 38 Issue 10 Pages 785-795

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Abstract

Objective To clarify the extent of asymptomatic cerebrovascular involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Patients and methods Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and ultrasonography findings of 100 patients with SLE lacking present or past clinical neurologic deficits were compared with 66 age-matched volunteers to determine the combined intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid artery, and tests for anti-cardiolipin antibodies (aCL). Results Thirty-eight patients, but only 2 controls, showed imaging abnormalities. Among 23 SLE patients with cerebrovascular lesions by MRI who underwent single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), 14 showed hypoperfusion of the lesion. The IMT value and prevalence of aCL did not differ between the 55 SLE patients tested and controls. SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) as assessed by a quantitative clinical index was significantly greater in patients with brain lesions than in those without. Conclusion The prevalence of asymptomatic brain lesions in SLE patients is high, and shows a relationship to disease activity.
(Internal Medicine 38: 785-795, 1999)

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© The Japanese Society of Internal Medicine
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