Gray matter Abnormalities in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients without Neuropsychiatric Symptoms: A Multi-shell Diffusion Imaging Study

Motivation: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) induces brain structural alterations, even in the absence of neuropsychiatric symptoms. Goal(s): Investigate cortical microstructure alterations in SLE patients without neuropsychiatric manifestations, identify most damaged regions, and assess diagnostic efficacy of diffusion models. Approach: Gray matter-based spatial statistics (GBSS) on DKI and NODDI data were conducted for microstructure analysis. Overlaps of significantly different regions from surface-based morphometry and GBSS were calculated to identify critical areas. Logistic regression was applied to compare diagnostic efficacy of models. Results: SLE patients exhibited increased MD, MK, NDI and ODI; temporal and frontal lobes most affected. Combined diffusion model demonstrated optimal diagnostic efficacy. Impact: This study provides a comprehensive understanding of gray matter changes and pinpoints the most affected regions in SLE. The combination of DKI and NODDI models presents optimal diagnostic efficacy.