Abstract #4964

High White Matter Fractional Anisotropy and Low Diffusivity in Participants with Post-acute Sequelae SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Huajun Liang¹, Thomas Ernst^1,2, Kenichi Oishi³, Meghann Ryan¹, Eleanor Wilson⁴, Andrea Levine⁵, Eric Cunningham¹, Shyamasundaran Kottilil⁴, and Linda Chang^1,2,6

¹Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ²Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ³Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁴Institute of Human Virology, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁵Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁶Department of Neurology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

Synopsis

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a sensitive method to detect inflammatory or cytotoxic tissue changes, has been used to study brain microstructure in patients with COVID-19. At 2-3 months post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), prior reports found both higher or lower than normal white matter diffusivity in participants who had variable severity of clinical manifestations. We performed DTI and neuropsychiatric assessments in 20 participants with PASC. Individuals with PASC had lower diffusivity 6 months after the diagnosis, which correlated with greater fatigue. These diffusion findings may be due to glial proliferation and immune-response related cytotoxic edema.

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