Microstructural brain abnormalities, fatigue, and cognitive dysfunction after mild COVID-19

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Scardua-Silva, Lucas ; da Costa, Beatriz Amorim ; Aventurato, Italo Karmann ; Joao, Rafael Batista ; de Campos, Brunno Machado ; de Brito, Mariana Rabelo ; Bechelli, Jose Flavio ; Silva, Leila Camila Santos ; dos Santos, Alan Ferreira ; Alvim, Marina Koutsodontis Machado ; Ludwig, Guilherme Vieira Nunes ; Rocha, Cristiane ; Souza, Thierry Kaue Alves Silva ; Mendes, Maria Julia ; Waku, Takeshi ; Boldrini, Vinicius de Oliveira ; Brunetti, Natalia Silva ; Baptista, Sophia Nora ; Schmitt, Gabriel da Silva ; de Sousa, Jhulia Gabriela Duarte ; de Oliveira Cardoso, Tania Aparecida Marchiori ; Vieira, Andre Schwambach ; Santos, Leonilda Maria Barbosa ; Farias, Alessandro dos Santos ; Nogueira, Mateus Henrique ; Cendes, Fernando ; Yasuda, Clarissa Lin

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS; v. 14, n. 1, p. 12-pg., 2024-01-19.

Resumo

Although some studies have shown neuroimaging and neuropsychological alterations in post-COVID-19 patients, fewer combined neuroimaging and neuropsychology evaluations of individuals who presented a mild acute infection. Here we investigated cognitive dysfunction and brain changes in a group of mildly infected individuals. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 97 consecutive subjects (median age of 41 years) without current or history of psychiatric symptoms (including anxiety and depression) after a mild infection, with a median of 79 days (and mean of 97 days) after diagnosis of COVID-19. We performed semi-structured interviews, neurological examinations, 3T-MRI scans, and neuropsychological assessments. For MRI analyses, we included a group of non-infected 77 controls. The MRI study included white matter (WM) investigation with diffusion tensor images (DTI) and functional connectivity with resting-state functional MRI (RS-fMRI). The patients reported memory loss (36%), fatigue (31%) and headache (29%). The quantitative analyses confirmed symptoms of fatigue (83% of participants), excessive somnolence (35%), impaired phonemic verbal fluency (21%), impaired verbal categorical fluency (13%) and impaired logical memory immediate recall (16%). The WM analyses with DTI revealed higher axial diffusivity values in post-infected patients compared to controls. Compared to controls, there were no significant differences in the functional connectivity of the posterior cingulum cortex. There were no significant correlations between neuropsychological scores and neuroimaging features (including DTI and RS-fMRI). Our results suggest persistent cognitive impairment and subtle white matter abnormalities in individuals mildly infected without anxiety or depression symptoms. The longitudinal analyses will clarify whether these alterations are temporary or permanent. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 19/23316-0 - Avaliação do impacto do tratamento cirúrgico no desempenho motor e qualidade de vida de pacientes com epilepsia
• Beneficiário: Maria Julia Mendes
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Iniciação Científica
• Processo FAPESP: 21/09230-5 - Associação entre alterações de substância branca e cinzenta e sintomas de Ansiedade e Depressão em pacientes pós-covid-19
• Beneficiário: Beatriz Amorim da Costa
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Iniciação Científica
• Processo FAPESP: 22/11786-4 - Long COVID: fenotipagem e caracterização da conectividade estrutural e funcional em pacientes com sequelas cognitivas da COVID-19
• Beneficiário: Ítalo Karmann Aventurato
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado Direto
• Processo FAPESP: 20/04032-8 - Alterações de substância cinzenta em pacientes com Doença de Huntington e Huntington-Like
• Beneficiário: Thierry Kaue Alves Silva Souza
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Iniciação Científica
• Processo FAPESP: 19/11457-8 - Avaliação multifatorial de transtornos de ansiedade e depressão em pacientes com epilepsia e acompanhantes
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• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Mestrado