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Progress in MRI assessment of brain structural characteristics in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and its association with immune-inflammatory indicators
GUO Qihong  NAN Guangxian  QIAO Wugao  NAN Jiang  LI Jianlin  WANG Jinpo  SHAO Yinjie 

Cite this article as: GUO Q H, NAN G X, QIAO W G, et al. Progress in MRI assessment of brain structural characteristics in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and its association with immune-inflammatory indicators[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2025, 16(10): 119-123. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.10.019.


[Abstract] Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by synovitis and autoimmune dysregulation, the etiology of which remains unclear. In addition to causing joint destruction and multi-system damage, recent studies have revealed that RA may also affect central nervous system (CNS) function through immune-mediated mechanisms. Clinically, RA patients frequently exhibit cognitive impairment, mood disorders (e.g., anxiety and depression), and memory deficits, which may be closely associated with abnormal brain structural alterations. Research suggests that the chronic immune-inflammatory state in RA may disrupt cortical structural remodeling and functional regulation by inducing peripheral immune dysregulation, cytokine network imbalance, and neuro-immune crosstalk, thereby contributing to the development and progression of neuropsychiatric symptoms. However, current findings on the correlation between immune-inflammatory markers and brain structural features remain inconsistent, and the immunoinflammatory regulatory mechanisms underlying brain structural changes in RA patients still lack systematic elucidation. Based on this, this review summarizes the application progress of MRI in evaluating brain structural characteristics in patients with RA. It explores their correlation with immune-inflammatory markers, aiming to provide new theoretical foundations for mechanistic research and precision intervention of RA-related neurological complications.
[Keywords] rheumatoid arthritis；brain structure；magnetic resonance imaging；immune inflammatory markers

GUO Qihong*   NAN Guangxian   QIAO Wugao   NAN Jiang   LI Jianlin   WANG Jinpo   SHAO Yinjie  

Department of Radiology, the First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000

Corresponding author: GUO Q H, E-mail: 447419262@qq.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2025-07-30
Accepted  2025-10-08
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.10.019
Cite this article as: GUO Q H, NAN G X, QIAO W G, et al. Progress in MRI assessment of brain structural characteristics in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and its association with immune-inflammatory indicators[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2025, 16(10): 119-123. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.10.019.

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