Cerebral microstructural alterations in Post-COVID-condition are related to cognitive impairment, olfactory dysfunction and fatigue
Jonas A. Hosp, Marco Reisert, Andrea Dreßing, Veronika Götz, Elias Kellner, Hansjörg Mast, Susan Arndt, Cornelius F. Waller, Dirk Wagner, Siegbert Rieg, Horst Urbach, Cornelius Weiller, Nils Schröter, Alexander Rau
Abstract
After contracting COVID-19, a substantial number of individuals develop a Post-COVID-Condition, marked by neurologic symptoms such as cognitive deficits, olfactory dysfunction, and fatigue. Despite this, biomarkers and pathophysiological understandings of this condition remain limited. Employing magnetic resonance imaging, we conduct a comparative analysis of cerebral microstructure among patients with Post-COVID-Condition, healthy controls, and individuals that contracted COVID-19 without long-term symptoms. We reveal widespread alterations in cerebral microstructure, attributed to a shift in volume from neuronal compartments to free fluid, associated with the severity of the initial infection. Correlating these alterations with cognition, olfaction, and fatigue unveils distinct affected networks, which are in close anatomical-functional relationship with the respective symptoms.