Clinical and pathological characteristics of neurological lesions in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus / 临床神经病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the clinical and pathological characteristics of neurological lesions in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).Methods The clinical and pathological data of 6 SLE patients with neurological lesions were analyzed retrospectively.Results Clinically, the central nervous system was involved in four patients with presentation of epilepsy in one case, cerebral infarction in two cases and leukoencephalopathy in one case. Mononeuropathy was involved in three cases. Pathologically, sural nerve biopsies disclosed typical vasculitis in one of three cases. There were loss of myelinated fibers, segmented and dark-stained axons and myelin, and myelin bead formation in the sural nerves. Muscular biopsy of one case showed mild degeneration and necrosis. Three skin biopsies demonstrated degeneration of fibrinogen, perivenous infiltration of inflammatory cells.Conclusions SLE may lead different damage of nervous system. Therefore, the changes of its clinical and pathological manifestations are complicated.