• Nicolle Zimmermann, Goulart CorrêaDiogoDFederal University of Rio de Janeiro, Department of Radiology, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil., Gustavo Tukamoto, Tania Netto, Batista PereiraDenisDFederal University of Rio de Janeiro, Department of Radiology, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil., Paz FonsecaRocheleRPontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Department of Psychology, Porto Alegre, Brazil., and Emerson Leandro Gasparetto.
• Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Department of Radiology, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• J Magn Reson Imaging. 2017 Jul 1; 46 (1): 150-158.

PurposeTo determine whether systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) affecting subcortical white matter volumes, deep gray matter volumes, and cortical thickness differ between groups of SLE patients with psychiatric (P-SLE), neurological (N-SLE), or nonneuropsychiatric (non-NPSLE) presentations.Materials And MethodsSixty-seven participants were divided into three groups (P-SLE [n = 19], N-SLE [n = 12], and non-NPSLE [n = 36]) and examined with a 1.5T MRI scanner. The images were segmented in FreeSurfer software into volumetric and cortical thickness measures using T1 3D magnetization prepared rapid gradient echo-weighted imaging. For comparative analyses of volume, multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVA) were applied followed by Bonferroni post-hoc tests, with age as a covariate. For cortical thickness analyses, the groups were compared with the Query Design Estimate Contrast tool adjusted for age.ResultsGlobus pallidus volumes in both left (P ≤ 0.01) and right (P ≤ 0.05) hemispheres were larger in the N-SLE group than in the non-NPSLE group, and the left GP volume was greater in the N-SLE group than in the P-SLE group (P ≤ 0.05) (MANCOVA, post-hoc Bonferroni). The P-SLE group presented with thinning of cortical areas relative to the N-SLE (predominantly in the left parietal and right frontal and parietal regions) (P ≤ 0.05) and non-NPSLE (predominantly in parietal and occipital regions) (P ≤ 0.05) groups, whereas the N-SLE group presented with thickening of cortical areas (mostly right frontal and left parietal regions) relative to the non-NPSLE (P ≤ 0.05) and P-SLE groups.ConclusionN-SLE patients had greater local volumes and cortical thicknesses than the other two groups, whereas P-SLE patients presented with decreased volumes and cortical thinning. These findings provide evidence of distinct neuroanatomical abnormalities in neurological versus psychiatric manifestations of SLE.Level Of Evidence2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 3 J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2017;46:150-158.© 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

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