Hippocampal subfield volume alterations and associations with severity measures in long COVID and ME/CFS: A 7T MRI study

SWAlexander

SWAlexander

Senior Member
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2,110

Abstract​

Long COVID and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) patients share similar symptoms including post-exertional malaise, neurocognitive impairment, and memory loss. The neurocognitive impairment in both conditions might be linked to alterations in the hippocampal subfields. Therefore, this study compared alterations in hippocampal subfields of 17 long COVID, 29 ME/CFS patients, and 15 healthy controls (HC). Structural MRI data was acquired with sub-millimeter isotropic resolution on a 7 Telsa MRI scanner and hippocampal subfield volumes were then estimated for each participant using FreeSurfer software. Our study found significantly larger volumes in the left hippocampal subfields of both long COVID and ME/CFS patients compared to HC. These included the left subiculum head (long COVID; p = 0.01, ME/CFS; p = 0.002,), presubiculum head (long COVID; p = 0.004, ME/CFS; p = 0.005), molecular layer hippocampus head (long COVID; p = 0.014, ME/CFS; p = 0.011), and whole hippocampal head (long COVID; p = 0.01, ME/CFS; p = 0.01). Notably, hippocampal subfield volumes were similar between long COVID and ME/CFS patients. Additionally, we found significant associations between hippocampal subfield volumes and severity measures of ‘Pain’, ‘Duration of illness’, ‘Severity of fatigue’, ‘Impaired concentration’, ‘Unrefreshing sleep’, and ‘Physical function’ in both conditions. These findings suggest that hippocampal alterations may contribute to the neurocognitive impairment experienced by long COVID and ME/CFS patients. Furthermore, our study highlights similarities between these two conditions.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0316625
 
Rufous McKinney

Rufous McKinney

Senior Member
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13,524
I noted this statement in the discussion: (which at least was a sentence that made sense, which I could read)

" Notably, we identified larger volumes on the left in: subiculum head, pre-subiculum head, molecular layer HP head, and whole hippocampal head; in both conditions"

A comment:

I've been dealing with being far far sicker on the right side of my body for decade now. Suggesting the left side of my brain may be involved. I typically feel this is lymphatic. Since it's divided into a R and L. The liver is also on the right, and may also contribute.

I do feel the hippocampus is a key area affecting all this.
 
Violeta

Violeta

Senior Member
Messages
3,273

Thiamine deficiency depletes cortical norepinephrine​

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4075172/

"Biochemical analyses revealed that the concentration of norepinephrine was reduced significantly in cortex-hippocampus and olfactory bulb but not in other regions,"



Effects of norepinephrine on microglial neuroinflammation and neuropathic pain​


https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ibra.12001#:~:text=Norepinephrine%20(NE)%20is%20an%20important,regulating%20the%20activation%20of%20microglia….

Norepinephrine (NE) is an important neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. NE is released from locus coeruleus neurons and is involved in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. Neuroinflammation is a common manifestation of many kinds of neurological diseases. The activation of microglia directly affects the status of neuroinflammation. Several kinds of adrenergic receptors, which anchor on microglia and can be regulated by NE, affect the activation of microglia and neuroinflammation. NE influences chronic pain, anxiety, and depression by regulating the activation of microglia

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Encephalopathy responsive to thiamine in severe COVID-19 patients​


https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8011322/
 
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