Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2022, Vol. 17 ›› Issue (7): 1576-1581.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.327361

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Survivors of COVID-19 exhibit altered amplitudes of low frequency fluctuation in the brain: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study at 1-year follow-up

Yan-Yao Du1, #, Wei Zhao1, 4, #, Xiang-Lin Zhou2, #, Mu Zeng1, Dan-Hui Yang2, Xing-Zhi Xie1, Si-Hong Huang1, Ying-Jia Jiang1, Wen-Han Yang1, Hu Guo1, Hui Sun1, Ji-Yang Liu3, Ping Liu3, Zhi-Guo Zhou3, *, Hong Luo2, *, Jun Liu1, 4, 5, *   

  1. 1Department of Radiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China; 2Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China; 3Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Hospital of Changsha, Changsha, Hunan Province, China; 4Clinical Research Center for Medical Imaging in Hunan Province, Changsha, Hunan Province, China; 5Department of Radiology Quality Control Center, Hunan Province, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
  • Online:2022-07-15 Published:2022-01-18
  • Contact: Jun Liu, MD, junliu123@csu.edu.cn; Hong Luo, MD, luohong1003@163.com; Zhi-Guo Zhou, MD, 13807311490@163.com.
  • Supported by:
    This study was supported by Key Emergency Project of Pneumonia Epidemic of Novel Coronavirus Infection of China, No. 2020SK3006 (to JL); Clinical Research Center for Medical Imaging in Hunan Province of China, No. 2020SK4001 (to JL); and the Innovative Major Emergency Project Funding against the New Coronavirus Pneumonia in Hunan Province of China, No. 2020SK3014 (to JYL).

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Abstract: Although some short-term follow-up studies have found that individuals recovering from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) exhibit anxiety, depression, and altered brain microstructure, their long-term physical problems, neuropsychiatric sequelae, and changes in brain function remain unknown. This observational cohort study collected 1-year follow-up data from 22 patients who had been hospitalized with COVID-19 (8 males and 11 females, aged 54.2 ± 8.7 years). Fatigue and myalgia were persistent symptoms at the 1-year follow-up. The resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that compared with 29 healthy controls (7 males and 18 females, aged 50.5 ± 11.6 years), COVID-19 survivors had greatly increased amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) values in the left precentral gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus of operculum, inferior frontal gyrus of triangle, insula, hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, postcentral gyrus, inferior parietal angular gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, angular gyrus, thalamus, middle temporal gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, caudate, and putamen. ALFF values in the left caudate of the COVID-19 survivors were positively correlated with their Athens Insomnia Scale scores, and those in the left precentral gyrus were positively correlated with neutrophil count during hospitalization. The long-term follow-up results suggest that the ALFF in brain regions related to mood and sleep regulation were altered in COVID-19 survivors. This can help us understand the neurobiological mechanisms of COVID-19-related neuropsychiatric sequelae. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University (approval No. 2020S004) on March 19, 2020.

Key words: amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation, clinical study, coronavirus disease 2019, follow-up, functional magnetic resonance imaging, long-term physical consequences, neuropsychiatric sequelae, resting‐-state function