Random number generation evaluation in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus indicates a heterogeneous nature of central nervous system vulnerability

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the vulnerability of the central nervous system (CNS) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: Forty‐eight patients with SLE, 58 with schizophrenia in remission and 39 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Patients vocally generated 100 numbers in a random fashion, using numbers 0 to 9, and were evaluated with seriality scores. Patients with SLE were subgrouped according to differences in the presence of Raynaud's phenomenon, anti‐phospholipid antibody, lupus activity, and a history of neuropsychiatric (NP) lupus, and these patients were also evaluated by comparison with their counterparts.

Results: In general, patients with SLE showed lower seriality scores than patients with schizophrenia, and higher seriality scores than normal controls. The scores of the patients with a history of NP lupus matched those with schizophrenia, and the scores of never having NP lupus matched those of the healthy controls.

Conclusions: CNS vulnerability may be prolonged in patients who have a history of NP lupus even when they appear to be in normal NP status. The damage in random number generation (RNG) observed in patients with a history of NP lupus seemed equal to that found in those with schizophrenia, whereas those patients never having NP lupus appeared to be equal to the controls. The current study suggests a heterogeneous nature of SLE and prolonged damage, especially in CNS vulnerability, when evaluating with RNG.