Cerebral microvascular and microstructural integrity is regionally altered in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Table 1 Baseline information for SLE patients and matched controls

Variable	SLE patients (n = 11)	Matched controls (n = 11)	p value^†
Demographics
Age, years*	19.5 ± 4.2	17.0 ± 6.8	0.312
Females (n)	10	10	1.000
Race (African American, n)^@	6	6	1.000
Income (n < $50,000/year)**	6	8	0.658
Median family income ($)* (US census based on ZIP)	64,090.91 ± 41,690.42	59,857.09 ± 9700.90	0.746
Physical exam findings
Body mass index (BMI)*	23.0 ± 4.9	25.9 ± 4.1	0.148
Blood pressure (mmHg)
Systolic*	115.4 ± 15.4	120.6 ± 10.9	0.372
Diastolic*	72.2 ± 7.3	69.4 ± 5.3	0.316
Neurocognitive assessment^#
Domains (Z-score)*
(1)Working memory	0.06 ± 0.72	− 0.34 ± 0.65	0.187
(2)Psychomotor speed	0.15 ± 0.88	− 0.15 ± 0.55	0.349
(3)Attention	0.34 ± 0.77	− 0.07 ± 0.90	0.264
(4)Visuoconstructional ability	0.46 ± 0.45	− 0.15 ± 0.56	0.610
SLE measures^‡
Disease duration, years*	6.3 ± 4.3	–
ds DNA positive (n)	5	–
Complement C3* (mg/dl)	96.9 ± 29.3	–
Complement C4* (mg/dl)	17.4 ± 8.9	–
SLEDAI*	5.7 ± 4.7	–
SLICC-ACR damage index (median (range))	0 (0–4)	–
Prednisone use (n)
None	2	–
≤ 5 mg/day	7	–
> 5 mg/day	2	–

The use of n indicates the number of patients identified in that particular group or subgroup
*Expressed in mean ± standard deviation (SD) values
**Income differences calculated using independent sample t test comparing mean incomes between the two groups
^†p values are based on independent sample t tests comparing the two groups
^‡Here, SLEDAI (SLE Disease Activity Index); SLICC-ACR (Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology) Damage Index is a measure expressed in their calculated value
^@Racial distribution for the non-African Americans included Caucasian (3) and Asian (2) for the c-SLE group and Caucasian (5) for the healthy controls
^#Cognitive assessment used the following tests: (1) working memory [Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC IV) Digit Span and Letter-Number Sequencing], (2) psychomotor speed [WISC IV Coding and Symbol Search; Conners’ Continuous Performance Test (CPT) II reaction time parameter], (3) attention [Conners’ CPT II Stroop Color and Word Test], and (4) visuoconstructional ability [Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence Block Design Test, Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition Block Counting, Gestalt Closure]

ISSN: 1478-6362