Psychiatria i Psychologia Kliniczna (Dec 2015)
The examination of the relationship between cognitive functions and cardiovascular condition in systemic lupus erythematosus patients without obvious neuropsychiatric features
Abstract
The aim: To investigate relations between selected neurocognitive parameters and echocardiographic variables in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Material and methods: The study included 24 female patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. In the neuropsychological assessment, the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) was performed, using the following tests: Motor Screening Task, Big/Little Circle, Paired Associates Learning, Stockings of Cambridge and Graded Naming Test. A decrease in the cognitive function was defined as the value of results below two standard deviations. The function of the heart was examined with transthoracic echocardiography. The diastolic function of the left ventricle was estimated with the ratio of early to late ventricular filling velocities. Results: In 8.3% of patients, Mean Latency (Motor Screening Task) was lower than standard zero, whereas Mean Errors (Motor Screening Task) remained above the cut-off level. Paired Associates Learning, Subsequent Thinking Mean Time (Stockings of Cambridge), Problems Solved in Minimum Moves (Stockings of Cambridge) and Graded Naming Test were found to be lower than standard zero in 79.16%, 26.08%, 70.83%, and 87.5% of patients, respectively. Mean Initial Thinking Time (Stockings of Cambridge) was above the cut-off level. When the cut-off level was defined as results below two standard deviations from standard zero, a reduction in cognitive functions was found in 4% of patients in Paired Associates Learning and Graded Naming Test, and in 1% of patients in Mean Subsequent Thinking Time (Stockings of Cambridge) and Problems Solved in Minimum Moves (Stockings of Cambridge). Mean Latency (Motor Screening Task), Mean Errors (Motor Screening Task), Big/Little Circle, and Mean Initial Thinking Time (Stockings of Cambridge) remained above the cut-off level. Based on the evaluation of ejection fraction, no patient showed signs of systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle, defined as ejection fraction <55%. There was no correlation between the ejection fraction and the results obtained in those CANTAB tests which were lower than two standard deviations. The ratio of early and late ventricular filling velocities showed no correlation with the results of Paired Associates Learning, Stockings of Cambridge, and Graded Naming Test. Conclusions: A decrease in selected cognitive functions in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, examined with CANTAB and demonstrated by the results of Paired Associates Learning, Graded Naming Test, Mean Subsequent Thinking Time and Problems Solved in Minimum Moves in Stockings of Cambridge, may be present without any features of the heart failure.
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