Exploring Biological Mechanisms Underlying the TEACH Intervention for Adolescents With Lupus

Exploring Biological Mechanisms Underlying the TEACH Intervention for Adolescents With Lupus

This study aims to understand how the TEACH program helps improve mental health and well-being in adolescents with childhood-onset lupus. Researchers will examine changes in brain function and inflammation before and after the program and explore how these changes relate to improvements in symptoms such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, and pain. Twenty adolescents with cSLE, aged 12-18 years, will participate by completing the TEACH program, brain imaging, blood tests, and questionnaires.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. be diagnosed with cSLE, meeting 2012 American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/System Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) and/or European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)/ACR classification criteria for SLE by age 18 years
2. be between the ages of 12 and 18 years
3. have stable disease meeting criteria for low lupus disease activity state (LLDAS)
4. in recognition of the heterogeneity of symptoms, have elevations (T scores ≥60; see Measures section) in fatigue OR depressive symptoms (≥5 on the PHQ-9, T Score ≥ 60 on the BDI or CDI II), OR pain (i.e., average pain ≥3 out of 10)
5. have English language proficiency for cognitive assessment.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. other chronic medical conditions (e.g., juvenile arthritis)
2. a documented developmental delay, severe cognitive impairment, or thought disorder
3. an untreated major psychiatric illness (e.g., bipolar disorder, psychosis, severe depression (T score ≥90) or active suicidal ideation (SI), based on the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI-II) /Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) items or PHQ9 score ≥21.
4. current psychotropic medication use
5. concurrent psychotherapy or other psychological intervention
6. conditions precluding cognitive task assessment (history of major head trauma, learning disability, alcohol/drug use within 24 hours of assessment, severe developmental problems affecting cognition, hearing loss or vision problems).