Multi-level Biomarkers for Psychiatric Disorders in Pediatric Lupus

Up to 50% of young people with lupus have neuropsychiatric disorders, but many of these patients don’t receive the treatment they need. Her study will ask whether a variety of tests, including brain scans with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and analysis of proteins in blood samples, can help identify which patients have these disorders due to lupus. They anticipate that the results of the study will lead to early detection and targeted treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders in young people with lupus.

What this study means to people with lupus

Young people with lupus often have neuropsychiatric disorders like depression or anxiety, which may be caused by brain inflammation. Dr. Knight is developing a new biomarker to better detect and diagnose neuropsychiatric disorders like depression and anxiety that are common in pediatric patients so they can receive treatment and get relief sooner.