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“Subcortical” cognitive impairment in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 December 2000

ELIZABETH LERITZ
Affiliation:
Division of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
JASON BRANDT
Affiliation:
Division of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
MELISSA MINOR
Affiliation:
Division of Molecular and Clinical Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
FRANCES REIS-JENSEN
Affiliation:
Division of Molecular and Clinical Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
MICHELLE PETRI
Affiliation:
Division of Molecular and Clinical Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland

Abstract

Studies of cognitive functioning in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have found deficits even in patients without other evidence of neurologic involvement. The present study used scores on the 11 items of the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) to classify the cognitive impairment of 93 SLE patients as suggestive of “cortical” or “subcortical” dysfunction using a validated statistical algorithm. Ninety-five percent of patients were categorized as having “subcortical” deficits, and 5% were categorized as having “cortical” deficits. When the analysis was limited to only those with total MMSE scores ≤ 24, 81% were classified as “subcortical” and 19% as “cortical.” These results suggest that SLE patients can have psychomotor and mental tracking deficits of a type seen in patients with subcortical brain disease, even in the absence of gross neurologic involvement. (JINS, 2000, 6, 821–825.)

Type
BRIEF COMMUNICATION
Copyright
© 2000 The International Neuropsychological Society

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