1. Neuropsychologic Profiles and Cerebral Glucose Metabolism in Neurocognitive Long COVID Syndrome
- Author
-
Kathrin Gerstacker, Hanna Hilger, Jonas A. Hosp, Lea I Walter, Johannes Thurow, Siegbert Rieg, Dietrich August, Cornelius Weiller, Dirk Wagner, Susan Arndt, Horst Urbach, Nils Schroeter, Tobias Bormann, Ganna Blazhenets, Philipp T. Meyer, Alexander Rau, Katarina Stete, and Andrea Dressing
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Neurology ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,Neuropsychology ,Montreal Cognitive Assessment ,COVID-19 ,Cognition ,Neuropsychological test ,Middle Aged ,Neuropsychological Tests ,Functional imaging ,Glucose ,Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome ,Visual memory ,Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 ,Internal medicine ,Positron-Emission Tomography ,medicine ,Humans ,Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and imaging ,business ,Neurocognitive ,Cerebrum ,Fatigue - Abstract
During the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Long COVID-syndrome, which impairs patients through cognitive deficits, fatigue, and exhaustion, has become increasingly relevant. Its underlying pathophysiology, however, is unknown. In this study, we assessed cognitive profiles and regional cerebral glucose metabolism as a biomarker of neuronal function in outpatients suffering from long-term neurocognitive symptoms after COVID-19. Methods: Outpatients seeking neurological counseling with neurocognitive symptoms persisting for more than three months after polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed COVID-19 were included prospectively between June 16, 2020, and January 29, 2021. Patients (n = 31, 54±2.0 years) in the long-term phase after COVID-19 (202±58 days after positive PCR) were assessed with a neuropsychological test battery. Cerebral 18F-FDG PET imaging was performed in 14/31 patients. Results: Patients self-reported impaired attention, memory, and multitasking abilities (31/31), word-finding difficulties (27/31), and fatigue (24/31). Twelve of 31 patients could not return to the previous level of independence/employment. For all cognitive domains, average group results of the neuropsychological test-battery showed no impairment, but deficits (z-score
- Published
- 2021