Thalamus involvement in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease of inflammatory character due to a combination of environmental, genetic and hormonal factors, being more frequent in women in childbearing age. A wide spectrum of clinical manifestations with variable intensity can be observed. The worst prognosis results from renal and central nervous system (CNS) impairment. There are differences in the causality of neuropsychiatric symptoms and may be related to high and prolonged stress, CNS impairment and / or drug treatment. The present study has its importance for obtaining data that will contribute to the solution of this dilemma. The prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms is of the order of 20-70%, being among the most frequent cases cognitive abnormalities, depression and anxiety. The thalamus is a neuroanatomic structure that makes several connections with the cerebral cortex and structures, being directly associated to the behavioral control. Therefore, a compromise of this structure in SLE is suggested. This is a cross-sectional, open-label study with a control group performed with patients who were followed at the Rheumatology outpatient clinic of UNICAMP. CNS manifestations will be analyzed by reviewing medical records, according to the nomenclature and classification of the American College of Rheumatology, and the volumetric study will be the main form of MRI analysis. (AU)