Neurology

This is a new literature review updated in May 2022. In case some essential information is missing, please contact us at: rafael@hcuge.ch.

Long-term follow-up of dynamic brain changes in patients recovered from COVID-19 without neurological manifestations 

Tian T, Wu J, Chen T, Li J, Yan S, Zhou Y, Peng X, Li Y, Zheng N, Cai A, Ning Q, Xiang H, Xu F, Qin Y, Zhu W, Wang J. JCI Insight. 2022 Feb 22;7(4):e155827. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.155827. PMID: 35191397.

Authors explored the cross-sectional and longitudinal consequences of COVID-19 on the brain in 34 discharged patients without neurological manifestations. Gray matter morphology, cerebral blood flow (CBF), and volumes of white matter tracts were investigated using advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques to explore dynamic brain changes from 3 to 10 months after discharge. Overall, the differences of cortical thickness were dynamic and finally returned to the baseline. For cortical CBF, hypoperfusion in severe cases observed at 3 months tended to recover at 10 months. Subcortical nuclei and white matter differences between groups and within subjects showed various trends, including recoverable and long-term unrecovered differences. After a 10-month recovery period, a reduced volume of nuclei in severe cases was still more extensive and profound than that in mild cases.

Link to study : Long-term follow-up of dynamic brain changes in patients recovered from COVID-19 without neurological manifestations