NERVOUS-SYSTEM DYSFUNCTION AND SYSTEMIC LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS IN SAUDIS

To assess the frequency of central nervous system (CNS) involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, the medical records of 8 8 consecutive SLE patients admitted to King Khalid University Hospital between 1986 and 1991 were reviewed retrospectively. 30% of SLE patie nts had neuropsychiatric events sometime during the course of the dise ase. Psychiatric problems (depression and psychosis) were the most fre quent manifestations (35.4%), followed by headache (31.8%), cranial an d peripheral neuropathy (27.2%) and movement disorders (22.7%). Other neurological manifestations occurred less frequently. Lymphopenia and thrombocytopoenia were significantly associated with neuropsychiatric manifestations.