Table 4 Parameters of magnetic resonance imaging: thickness and paramagnetic susceptibility in the covariate-matched cohort

From: Distinct brain alterations and neurodegenerative processes in cognitive impairment associated with post-acute sequelae of COVID-19

 

NS-PASC (n = 27)

Other-PASC (n = 27)

Cog-PASC (n = 28)

Adjusted P*

Thickness (mm)

 Whole cortex

2.4028 [2.3752–2.4556]

2.4182 [2.3868–2.4834]

2.4183 [2.3551–2.4780]

0.382

 Frontal cortex

2.4908 [2.4653–2.5591]

2.5287 [2.4828–2.5919]

2.5265 [2.4581–2.5703]

0.519

 Orbitofrontal gyrus

2.4880 [2.4356–2.5776]

2.5042 [2.4634–2.5806]

2.4977 [2.4635–2.5637]

0.468

 Cingulate cortex

2.4421 [2.3786–2.5119]

2.4934 [2.4469–2.5537]

2.4452 [2.3556–2.5169]

0.031a,b

 Anterior cingulate

2.5315 [2.4783–2.6166]

2.6190 [2.5561–2.6979]

2.5607 [2.4607–2.6476]

0.019a,b

 Posterior cingulate

2.3755 [2.3042–2.4718]

2.4210 [2.3740–2.5137]

2.3835 [2.3175–2.4843]

0.211

 Temporal cortex

2.8653 [2.8053–2.9389]

2.8975 [2.8516–2.9430]

2.8736 [2.7982–2.9481]

0.400

 Parahippocampal gyrus

2.7115 [2.5972–2.8293]

2.7055 [2.6485–2.8418]

2.7145 [2.5433–2.8708]

0.745

 Insular cortex

2.9740 [2.9072–3.0365]

2.9670 [2.9293–3.0925]

2.9455 [2.8622–3.0198]

0.111

 Parietal cortex

2.2398 [2.1849–2.2816]

2.2408 [2.1905–2.3112]

2.2324 [2.1698–2.2973]

0.491

 Occipital cortex

1.8114 [1.7054–1.8345]

1.7819 [1.7596–1.8158]

1.7692 [1.7155–1.8289]

0.518

Volumes (cm3)

 Whole cortex

521.7296 [501.6392–536.2246]

528.6766 [492.2414–550.2091]

531.5716 [503.3577–548.9078]

0.785

 Whole white matter

481.0479 [462.0964–506.4697]

480.5467 [451.3960–507.7539]

482.6981 [448.8307–524.7246]

0.946

 Frontal cortex

149.7360 [141.3945–155.5315]

149.6630 [143.3505–159.1555]

149.0210 [141.7930–159.4625]

0.946

 Cingulate cortex

17.9910 [17.1980–18.7095]

18.0790 [16.5135–19.6635]

18.2660 [16.4765–19.3835]

0.932

 Temporal cortex

99.6230 [93.4570–103.3595]

97.8380 [93.4555–104.8575]

101.2430 [96.6020–106.3190]

0.799

 Parietal cortex

98.8900 [93.8490–105.7955]

100.7310 [95.7450–106.3325]

102.3330 [99.9095–108.0340]

0.215

 Occipital cortex

42.8290 [39.9615–44.6190]

44.3650 [40.5430–47.4145]

42.9460 [39.0020–46.0460]

0.594

 Insular cortex

12.9690 [12.2010–13.5410]

13.0250 [12.3395–13.6600]

13.0385 [12.2610–14.0990]

0.622

 Subcortical gray matter

54.8780 [51.1775–56.8110]

54.7880 [52.3850–58.4955]

55.4260 [53.0870–57.9445]

0.706

 Cerebellar cortex

96.5537 [92.6592–104.8724]

98.9707 [91.8772–103.4489]

98.3687 [91.4136–103.6945]

0.996

Paramagnetic susceptibility (ppb)c

Cortical GM

    

 Whole cortex

0.0195 [0.0189–0.0199]

0.0191 [0.0189–0.0198]

0.0201 [0.0195–0.0205]

0.163

 Frontal cortex

0.0197 [0.0187–0.0199]

0.0190 [0.0186–0.0197]

0.0194 [0.0190–0.0201]

0.811

 Cingulate cortex

0.0167 [0.0162–0.0176]

0.0162 [0.0156–0.0167]

0.0178 [0.0164–0.0192]

0.025a

 Temporal cortex

0.0219 [0.0215–0.0228]

0.0218 [0.0206–0.0247]

0.0231 [0.0219–0.0241]

0.476

 Parietal cortex

0.0163 [0.0160–0.0166]

0.0158 [0.0155–0.0171]

0.0162 [0.0157–0.0175]

0.780

 Occipital cortex

0.0238 [0.0218–0.0245]

0.0227 [0.0219–0.0239]

0.0244 [0.0230–0.0270]

0.064

 Insular cortex

0.0153 [0.0145–0.0162]

0.0154 [0.0140–0.0161]

0.0166 [0.0154–0.0177]

0.067

Deep GM

 Thalamus

0.0160 [0.0143–0.0168]

0.0160 [0.0139–0.0186]

0.0170 [0.0157–0.0189]

0.753

 Caudate

0.0329 [0.0299–0.0358]

0.0344 [0.0281–0.0412]

0.0317 [0.0290–0.0383]

0.856

 Putamen

0.0410 [0.0401–0.0489]

0.0535 [0.0400–0.0682]

0.0482 [0.0402–0.0579]

0.332

 Pallidum

0.1001 [0.0860–0.1094]

0.1064 [0.0908–0.1216]

0.1031 [0.0983–0.1161]

0.358

 Hippocampus

0.0171 [0.0159–0.0173]

0.0181 [0.0165–0.0191]

0.0178 [0.0168–0.0193]

0.062

 Amygdala

0.0129 [0.0114–0.0139]

0.0134 [0.0126–0.0149]

0.0135 [0.0127–0.0153]

0.253

Choroid plexus

 CP volume fraction

0.1420 [0.1293–0.1679]

0.1495 [0.1222–0.1642]

0.1334 [0.1240–0.1771]

0.848

DTI analysisd

 DTI-ALPS index

1.4341 [1.3682–1.6358]

1.5941 [1.4489–1.7213]

1.4838 [1.3942–1.6175]

0.293

 Mean Diffusivity (×10−3 mm²/s)

0.7604 [0.7523–0.7689]

0.7582 [0.7483–0.7691]

0.7669 [0.7539–0.7827]

0.155

 Radial Diffusivity (×10−3 mm²/s)

0.4435 [0.4323–0.4525]

0.4466 [0.4315–0.4536]

0.4409 [0.4279–0.4493]

0.197

 Fraction Anisotropy

0.4435 [0.4323–0.4525]

0.4466 [0.4315–0.4536]

0.4409 [0.4279–0.4493]

0.197

  1. PASC, post-acute sequelae of COVID-19; NS-PASC, no significant PASC group; Other-PASC, group with multifaceted symptoms (Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MoCA] ≥26 [a score ≥26 was considered normal], Fatigue Assessment Scale [FAS] ≥22 [a score >22 indicated higher levels of fatigue], and/or PASC score [symptom scores selected to define PASC] ≥12 [the threshold for the PASC score was ≥12]); Cog-PASC, group with cognitive impairment (MoCA <26 [a score ≤25 was considered mild cognitive impairment]); Numbers are presented as percentages and as medians with interquartile ranges (IQR; 25th–75th percentiles). FDR-adjusted p-values reflect the results of two-sided tests adjusted for age, sex, and education, with false discovery rate (FDR) correction applied for multiple comparisons. Exact p-values are provided in the Source Data file.
  2. GM gray matter, DTI-ALPS diffusion tensor imaging analysis along the perivascular space, CP choroid plexus.
  3. aFDR-adjusted p < 0.05 between Cog-PASC vs. Other-PASC.
  4. bFDR-adjusted p < 0.05 between Other-PASC vs. NS-PASC.
  5. cParamagnetic susceptibility was measured in NS-PASC (n = 11), Other-PASC (n = 11), and Cog-PASC (n = 12).
  6. dMD, RD, and FA were calculated from the DTI analysis acquired in NS-PASC (n = 21), Other-PASC (n = 21), and Cog-PASC (n = 24).
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