Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can produce profound disturbances in the central nervous system, characterized by encephalopathy, focal neurologic deficits, cerebral infarction, psychosis, and seizures. We used 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to determine the in vivo levels of high-energy phosphates in the central nervous system of 10 patients with SLE and 10 age-matched normal controls. 31P NMR spectroscopy was performed on a 1.5-Tesla unit equipped with a dual-tuned 1H-31P surface coil and a software-directed DRESS (depth resolved surface coil spectroscopy) pulse sequence. This procedure detected ADP, ATP, sugar phosphates, phosphocreatine (PCr), inorganic phosphate, phosphomonoesters, and phosphodiesters in the brain tissue of all study subjects. Levels of ATP in the deep white matter of 10 SLE patients were significantly decreased compared with the levels in 10 normal controls, as quantitated by the ratio of ATP:ATP + ADP (mean +/- SD 0.81 +/- 0.11 versus 0.91 +/- 0.05; P less than 0.02). In a subgroup of 4 patients, PCr levels were decreased to a greater extent than the ATP levels. NMR spectroscopic alterations were not related to obvious anatomic lesions, as determined by standard cranial proton magnetic resonance imaging. In 4 SLE patients with markedly abnormal 31P NMR spectra, treatment with prednisone (80 mg/day) normalized the levels of ATP and PCr. Restoration of a normal 31P profile was accompanied by an obvious improvement in the patients' mental status and clinical symptoms. 31P NMR spectroscopy is a powerful new technique for monitoring high-energy phosphate metabolism, and may be particularly useful for characterizing central nervous system disease in patients with neuropsychiatric SLE.