Reduced Cortical Thickness Correlates of Cognitive Dysfunction in Post-COVID-19 Condition: Insights from a Long-Term Follow-up
Rosalía Dacosta‐Aguayo, Josep Puig, Noemí Lamonja-Vicente, Meritxell Carmona-Cervelló, Brenda Biaani León-Gómez, Gemma C. Monté, Victor M. López-Linfante, Valeria Zamora-Putin, Pilar Montero-Alía, Carla Chacón, Jofre Bielsa, Eduard Moreno‐Gabriel, Rosa García‐Sierra, Alba Liliana Pachón, Anna Caroline Leite Costa, María Mataró, Júlia G. Prado, Eva Martínez‐Cáceres, Lourdes Mateu, Marta Massanella, Concepción Violán, Pere Torán‐Monserrat, for the Aliança ProHEpiC-19 Cognitiu (The APC Collaborative Group)
Abstract
<h3>BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:</h3> There is a paucity of data on long-term neuroimaging findings from individuals who have developed the post-coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) condition. Only 2 studies have investigated the correlations between cognitive assessment results and structural MR imaging in this population. This study aimed to elucidate the long-term cognitive outcomes of participants with the post-COVID-19 condition and to correlate these cognitive findings with structural MR imaging data in the post-COVID-19 condition. <h3>MATERIALS AND METHODS:</h3> A cohort of 53 participants with the post-COVID-19 condition underwent 3T brain MR imaging with T1 and FLAIR sequences obtained a median of 1.8 years after Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. A comprehensive neuropsychological battery was used to assess several cognitive domains in the same individuals. Correlations between cognitive domains and whole-brain voxel-based morphometry were performed. Different ROIs from FreeSurfer were used to perform the same correlations with other neuroimaging features. <h3>RESULTS:</h3> According to the Frascati criteria, more than one-half of the participants had deficits in the attentional (55%, <i>n</i> = 29) and executive (59%, <i>n</i> = 31) domains, while 40% (<i>n</i> = 21) had impairment in the memory domain. Only 1 participant (1.89%) showed problems in the visuospatial and visuoconstructive domains. We observed that reduced cortical thickness in the left parahippocampal region (<i>t</i>(48) = 2.28, <i>P </i>= .03) and the right caudal-middle-frontal region (<i>t</i>(48) = 2.20, <i>P </i>= .03) was positively correlated with the memory domain. <h3>CONCLUSIONS:</h3> Our findings suggest that cognitive impairment in individuals with the post-COVID-19 condition is associated with long-term alterations in the structure of the brain. These macrostructural changes may provide insight into the nature of cognitive symptoms.