Structural Brain Abnormalities and Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Post-COVID Condition.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Radiology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Post-Coronavirus Disease Condition (PCC) can manifest with persistent neurobehavioral symptoms.
• Brain morphometry alterations and their relationship with neuropsychiatric symptoms in PCC require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare brain morphometry and neuropsychiatric symptoms cross-sectionally and longitudinally in PCC and healthy controls.
• To evaluate the relationship between brain structural changes and neurobehavioral outcomes in PCC.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional and longitudinal study comparing 29 PCC participants and 25 controls at baseline (~8 months post-infection) and 11 PCC and 7 controls at follow-up (~3 years post-infection).
• Neurobehavioral assessments included NIH Toolbox and Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS).
• Structural brain MRI analyzed cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volumes.

Main Results:

• At baseline, PCC exhibited significantly larger putamen and amygdala volumes, with trends for larger hippocampus and accumbens.
• PCC also showed thicker cortices, larger cortical surface areas, and volumes, associated with increased anxiety, depression, and pain.
• At follow-up, PCC reported more sadness, fear, pain, and fatigue, but group differences in brain morphometry diminished and neurobehavioral performance improved.

Conclusions:

• Structural brain abnormalities in PCC may reflect compensatory processes like enhanced myelination or neurogenesis.
• These alterations might contribute to persistent neurobehavioral symptoms, but evidence suggests potential improvement three years post-infection.