Pulse Corticosteroid Therapy and Effect on Brain Water Diffusivity

• Conditions: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

• Registration Number: NCT00527176
• Lead Sponsor: Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc- Université Catholique de Louvain

Brief Summary

In daily clinical use, pulse high dosis corticosteroids are used to treat cerebral edema in different pathological situations ( surgery, trauma, tumors...). Dehydration can theorically concern extra-cellular or intracellular water, or both.

The relative proportion of those two components are not known, as well their kinetics.

Diffusion Weighted Imaging ( DWI) is a none invasive and none toxic technique to study those phenomena.We can also study the diffusivity anisotropy not using a Gaussian distribution but rather a non- gaussian one, more close to the reality ( q Space Imaging ).

Finally, we can study the compartment redistribution between slow and rapid water molecules diffusion by bi-exponential decomposition of the diffusion signal, corresponding, theorically, respectively to the intra- and extra-cellular component.

Hypothesis : The high dosis steroid pulse therapy modifies or not the water free diffusion in DWI and qSI ? Is there a modification in the diffusivity of both rapid and slow component ?

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Status Verified: 2007-09
• Study Start: 2007-09
• Study Completion: 2007-09
• Study First Submitted: 2007-09-07
• Study First Submitted QC: 2007-09-07
• Last Update Submitted: 2007-09-07
• Study First Posted: 2007-09-10
• Last Update Posted: 2007-09-10

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: UNKNOWN
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: Not specified

Inclusion Criteria

• Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
• normal neurological exam
• informed consent
• 18 yo or more

Exclusion Criteria

• abnormal neurological exam
• younger than 18 years old

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Clinique Universitaire St LUC; 🇧🇪 Brussels, Belgium