Alterations of frontal-temporal gray matter volume associate with clinical measures of older adults with COVID-19

Kuaikuai Duan; Enrico Premi; Andrea Pilotto; Viviana Cristillo; Alberto Benussi; Ilenia Libri; Marcello Giunta; H. Jeremy Bockholt; Jingyu Liu; Riccardo Campora; Alessandro Pezzini; Roberto Gasparotti; Mauro Magoni; Alessandro Padovani; Vince D. Calhoun

Neurobiology of Stress (May 2021)

Alterations of frontal-temporal gray matter volume associate with clinical measures of older adults with COVID-19

Kuaikuai Duan,
Enrico Premi,
Andrea Pilotto,
Viviana Cristillo,
Alberto Benussi,
Ilenia Libri,
Marcello Giunta,
H. Jeremy Bockholt,
Jingyu Liu,
Riccardo Campora,
Alessandro Pezzini,
Roberto Gasparotti,
Mauro Magoni,
Alessandro Padovani,
Vince D. Calhoun

Affiliations

Kuaikuai Duan: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA; Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Emory University, Atlanta, USA; Corresponding author. TReNDS Center, 55 Park Place NE, 18th floor, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA.
Enrico Premi: Stroke Unit, Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale Spedali Civili, Spedali Civili Hospital, Brescia, Italy; Neurology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Italy
Andrea Pilotto: Neurology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Italy
Viviana Cristillo: Neurology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Italy
Alberto Benussi: Neurology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Italy
Ilenia Libri: Neurology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Italy
Marcello Giunta: Neurology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Italy
H. Jeremy Bockholt: Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
Jingyu Liu: Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Emory University, Atlanta, USA; Department of Computer Science, Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA
Riccardo Campora: Neuroradiology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, University of Brescia and ASST Spedali Civili Hospital, Brescia, Italy
Alessandro Pezzini: Neurology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Italy
Roberto Gasparotti: Neuroradiology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, University of Brescia and ASST Spedali Civili Hospital, Brescia, Italy
Mauro Magoni: Stroke Unit, Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale Spedali Civili, Spedali Civili Hospital, Brescia, Italy
Alessandro Padovani: Neurology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Italy
Vince D. Calhoun: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA; Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Emory University, Atlanta, USA; Department of Computer Science, Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA; Department of Psychology, Computer Science, Neurosciences, Mathematics & Statistics, Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 14
p. 100326

Abstract

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COVID-19, the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a global pandemic. It dramatically affects people's health and daily life. Neurological complications are increasingly documented for patients with COVID-19. However, the effect of COVID-19 on the brain is less studied, and existing quantitative neuroimaging analyses of COVID-19 were mainly based on the univariate voxel-based morphometry analysis (VBM) that requires corrections for a large number of tests for statistical significance, multivariate approaches that can reduce the number of tests to be corrected have not been applied to study COVID-19 effect on the brain yet. In this study, we leveraged source-based morphometry (SBM) analysis, a multivariate extension of VBM, to identify changes derived from computed tomography scans in covarying gray matter volume patterns underlying COVID-19 in 120 neurological patients (including 58 cases with COVID-19 and 62 patients without COVID-19 matched for age, gender and diseases). SBM identified that lower gray matter volume (GMV) in superior/medial/middle frontal gyri was significantly associated with a higher level of disability (modified Rankin Scale) at both discharge and six months follow-up phases even when controlling for cerebrovascular diseases. GMV in superior/medial/middle frontal gyri was also significantly reduced in patients receiving oxygen therapy compared to patients not receiving oxygen therapy. Patients with fever presented significant GMV reduction in inferior/middle temporal gyri and fusiform gyrus compared to patients without fever. Patients with agitation showed GMV reduction in superior/medial/middle frontal gyri compared to patients without agitation. Patients with COVID-19 showed no significant GMV differences from patients without COVID-19 in any brain region. Results suggest that COVID-19 may affect the frontal-temporal network in a secondary manner through fever or lack of oxygen.

Published in Neurobiology of Stress

ISSN: 2352-2895 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry: Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system; Science: Physiology: Neurophysiology and neuropsychology
Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/neurobiology-of-stress/

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