ABSTRACT
Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus is a diagnostic challenge due to the multifarious neurological and psychiatric manifestations that define it but, when suspected, diagnostic imaging can give a fundamental help.
The advancements and variety of neuroimaging techniques allow us to perform more and more accurate evaluations of structure, perfusion, and metabolism of the brain and to detect cerebral and spinal lesions. Moreover, vascular districts of the neck and the brain, as well as the electrical brain and peripheral muscle activity may be accurately investigated, thus giving us a wide panoramic view. Although magnetic resonance is recognized as a fundamental neuroimaging technique to reach a correct diagnosis, the juxtaposition of other diagnostic techniques has improved the possibility to make diagnoses but has also increased the confusion about deciding which of them to use and when. Our aim was to combine the number of available techniques with the need to simplify the diagnostic path. Therefore, through the construction of an algorithm from an evidence based approach, we believe we are providing some added improvements to facilitate and expedite the diagnosis of NPSLE.
Acknowledgments
None reported.
Declaration of interest
The author declare no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties. PGM peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.