Imbalanced Brain Neurochemicals in Long COVID and ME/CFS: A Preliminary Study Using MRI - 11/02/25
, Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik, PhD a, Natalie Eaton-Fitch, PhD a, Zeinab Eftekhari, BSc (Honours) b, Maira Inderyas, MSc a, Leighton Barnden, PhD a
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Abstract |
Purpose |
Long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) patients experience multiple complex symptoms, potentially linked to imbalances in brain neurochemicals. This study aims to measure brain neurochemical levels in long COVID and ME/CFS patients as well as healthy controls to investigate associations with severity measures.
Methods |
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy data were acquired with a 3T Prisma magnetic resonance imaging scanner (Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany). We measured absolute levels of brain neurochemicals in the posterior cingulate cortex in long COVID (n = 17), ME/CFS (n = 17), and healthy controls (n = 10) using Osprey software. The statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 29 (IBM, Armonk, NY). Age and sex were included as nuisance covariates.
Results |
Glutamate levels were significantly higher in patients with long COVID (P = .02) and ME/CFS (P = .017) than in healthy controls. No significant difference was found between the 2 patient cohorts. Additionally, N-acetyl-aspartate levels were significantly higher in long COVID patients (P = .012). Importantly, brain neurochemical levels were associated with self-reported severity measures in long COVID and ME/CFS.
Conclusion |
Our study identified significantly elevated glutamate and N-acetyl-aspartate levels in long COVID and ME/CFS patients compared with healthy controls. No significant differences in brain neurochemicals were observed between the 2 patient cohorts, suggesting a potential overlap in their underlying pathology. These findings suggest that imbalanced neurochemicals contribute to the complex symptoms experienced by long COVID and ME/CFS patients.
Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.Keywords : Brain neurochemicals, Glutamate, Long COVID, ME/CFS, MRI, N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA)
Plan
| Funding: This research is funded by ME Research UK (SCIO Charity Number SC036942) with the financial support of The Fred and Joan Davies Bequest. Other funding bodies include The Stafford Fox Medical Research Foundation (489798), the National Health and Medical Research Council (1199502), Talei Foundation, Buxton Foundation (4676), Henty Community (4879), Henty Lions Club (4880), Blake Beckett Trust Foundation (4579), Alison Hunter Memorial Foundation (4570), and the Change for ME Charity (4575). |
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| Conflicts of Interest: None. |
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| Authorship: All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version. KT: Writing – review & editing, original draft, Software, Resources, Methodology, Funding acquisition, Formal analysis, Data curation, Conceptualization; SM-G: Writing – review & editing, original draft, Supervision, Funding acquisition; NE-F: Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing; ZE: Writing – review & editing; MI: Data curation, Writing – review & editing; LB: Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Funding acquisition, Conceptualization. |
Vol 138 - N° 3
P. 567 - mars 2025 Retour au numéro
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