COVID-induced neuroinflammation can last 2 years or longer, according to new PET data
Patients who continue to struggle with fatigue and brain fog after recovering from COVID-19 may have lingering neuroinflammation triggered by the virus.
According to new research in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, this inflammation can persist for up to two years after an initial infection. Experts made this determination after conducting whole-body PET scans on a group of individuals diagnosed with post-COVID syndrome using a radiotracer—F-18 DPA-714—that binds to translocator protein (TSPO), which is a known biomarker of inflammation.
Experts involved in the analysis say their findings further emphasize the role of neuroinflammation in post-COVID syndrome.
“Dysregulated immune and neurologic systems may play a role in the pathophysiology of post-COVID syndrome,” lead author Denise Visser, MD, of Amsterdam UMC in the Netherlands, and colleagues suggested. “A target providing direct information on immune activation is the 18-kDa translocator protein (TSPO), which is upregulated in activated microglia.”
The analysis included 47 individuals who had been previously diagnosed with post-COVID syndrome. Of those, 33 reported persistent struggles with fatigue and difficulty concentrating, while the remaining 14 did not complain of lingering symptoms at the time of the study. Each individual underwent whole-body PET imaging using the F-18 DPA-714 radiotracer two years after their initial infection, in addition to completing a questionnaire related to their symptoms and infection severity.
Researchers quantified the tracer’s binding across cerebral and extracerebral regions to determine if specific parameters were associated with the participants’ symptoms. Through this, they observed notable increased cerebral binding in individuals who reported persistent post-COVID symptoms on the questionnaire. However, there were no significant differences in the extracerebral regions between the groups.
These findings are important to consider with regard to patients’ long-term health, the group noted, as chronic inflammation has been implicated in cognitive decline.
“As we know from other diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer disease, and Parkinson disease, chronic neuroinflammation is associated with neurodegeneration and may be equally relevant for post-COVID syndrome,” the authors concluded.
Read more about the findings here.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.