Psychiatric sequelae substantially contribute to the post-acute burden of disease associated with COVID-19, persisting months after clearance of the virus. Brain imaging shows white matter (WM) hypodensities/hyperintensities, and the involvement of grey matter (GM) in prefrontal, anterior cingulate (ACC) and insular cortex after COVID, but little is known about brain correlates of persistent psychopathology. With a multimodal approach, we studied whole brain voxel-based morphometry, diffusion-tensor imaging, and resting-state connectivity, to correlate MRI measures with depression and post-traumatic distress (PTSD) in 42 COVID-19 survivors without brain lesions, at 90.59 ± 54.66 days after COVID. Systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) measured in the emergency department, which reflects the immune response and systemic inflammation based on peripheral lymphocyte, neutrophil, and platelet counts, predicted worse self-rated depression and PTSD, widespread lower diffusivity along the main axis of WM tracts, and abnormal functional connectivity (FC) among resting state networks. Self-rated depression and PTSD inversely correlated with GM volumes in ACC and insula, axial diffusivity, and associated with FC. We observed overlapping associations between severity of inflammation during acute COVID-19, brain structure and function, and severity of depression and post-traumatic distress in survivors, thus warranting interest for further study of brain correlates of the post-acute COVID-19 syndrome. Beyond COVID-19, these findings support the hypothesis that regional GM, WM microstructure, and FC could mediate the relationship between a medical illness and its psychopathological sequelae, and are in agreement with current perspectives on the brain structural and functional underpinnings of depressive psychopathology.

Brain correlates of depression, post-traumatic distress, and inflammatory biomarkers in COVID-19 survivors: A multimodal magnetic resonance imaging study / Benedetti, Francesco; Palladini, Mariagrazia; Paolini, Marco; Melloni, Elisa; Vai, Benedetta; De Lorenzo, Rebecca; Furlan, Roberto; Rovere-Querini, Patrizia; Falini, Andrea; Mazza, Mario Gennaro. - In: BRAIN, BEHAVIOR, & IMMUNITY. HEALTH. - ISSN 2666-3546. - 18:(2021), p. 100387. [Epub ahead of print] [10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100387]

Brain correlates of depression, post-traumatic distress, and inflammatory biomarkers in COVID-19 survivors: A multimodal magnetic resonance imaging study

Benedetti, Francesco;Paolini, Marco;Melloni, Elisa;De Lorenzo, Rebecca;Furlan, Roberto;Rovere-Querini, Patrizia;Falini, Andrea;Mazza, Mario Gennaro
2021-01-01

Abstract

Psychiatric sequelae substantially contribute to the post-acute burden of disease associated with COVID-19, persisting months after clearance of the virus. Brain imaging shows white matter (WM) hypodensities/hyperintensities, and the involvement of grey matter (GM) in prefrontal, anterior cingulate (ACC) and insular cortex after COVID, but little is known about brain correlates of persistent psychopathology. With a multimodal approach, we studied whole brain voxel-based morphometry, diffusion-tensor imaging, and resting-state connectivity, to correlate MRI measures with depression and post-traumatic distress (PTSD) in 42 COVID-19 survivors without brain lesions, at 90.59 ± 54.66 days after COVID. Systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) measured in the emergency department, which reflects the immune response and systemic inflammation based on peripheral lymphocyte, neutrophil, and platelet counts, predicted worse self-rated depression and PTSD, widespread lower diffusivity along the main axis of WM tracts, and abnormal functional connectivity (FC) among resting state networks. Self-rated depression and PTSD inversely correlated with GM volumes in ACC and insula, axial diffusivity, and associated with FC. We observed overlapping associations between severity of inflammation during acute COVID-19, brain structure and function, and severity of depression and post-traumatic distress in survivors, thus warranting interest for further study of brain correlates of the post-acute COVID-19 syndrome. Beyond COVID-19, these findings support the hypothesis that regional GM, WM microstructure, and FC could mediate the relationship between a medical illness and its psychopathological sequelae, and are in agreement with current perspectives on the brain structural and functional underpinnings of depressive psychopathology.
2021
Anxiety
COVID-19
Depression
Diffusion-tensor imaging
Functional connectivity
Grey matter
Magnetic resonance imaging
PTSD
Resting state
SARS-COV-2
White matter
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11768/120832
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