Dr. Diane Kamen of the Medical University of South Carolina provides an overview of how lupus can affect the body's organs.
Using Magnetization Transfer Imaging to Detect Changes in the Brains of Children with Lupus
Neuropsychiatric lupus develops when lupus affects the central nervous system and can lead to cognitive impairments, which can negatively affect school performance in children with lupus. Doctors need tools to better assess these effects of lupus earlier so that appropriate interventions can help prevent diminished school performance in children with lupus. Dr. Eyal Muscal of the Baylor School of Medicine presented data during the 2011 American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting on the results of a study supported by the Lupus Foundation of America that used advanced brain imaging techniques to evaluate changes in the brains of adolescents with lupus during the first two years of lupus diagnosis.
Presenter: Eyal Muscal, MD, MS
Presentation date: November 9, 2011
Dr. Deborah McCurdy and Dr. Ornella Rullo found that high levels of a protein called osteopontin may be a predictor of future lupus disease activity and organ damage.