Brain white matter microstructure is altered in previously hospitalized patients with post COVID-19 condition: MRI findings with generalized diffusion encoding

Description: There is mounting evidence of the long-term effects of COVID-19 on the central nervous system. However, conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) fails to detect consistent patterns connecting the symptomatology to brain tissue abnormalities. Diffusion MRI (dMRI) exploits the random motion of water molecules to achieve unique sensitivity to structures at the microscopic level. In this work we employ Q-space trajectory imaging (QTI), an advanced diffusion MRI method, to examine the brain white matter of 16 patients previously hospitalized for COVID-19 who experience persisting symptoms compatible with post COVID condition (PCC). We compare this group to a matched control group using the tract-based spatial statistics applied to the scalar maps obtained with QTI. These are fractional anisotropy (FA), microscopic fractional anisotropy (µFA), mean diffusivity (MD), size variance (CMD), and orientational coherence (Cc)). These observed changes can be indicative of vasogenic edema, demyelination, and axonal damage.

Communities: developmental