Hippocampal subfield volume alterations and associations with severity measures in long COVID and ME/CFS: A 7T MRI study.

Long COVID and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) patients share similar symptoms including post-exertional malaise, neurocognitive impairment, and memory loss. The neurocognitive impairment in both conditions might be linked to alterations in the hippocampal subfields. Therefore, this study compared alterations in hippocampal subfields of 17 long COVID, 29 ME/CFS patients, and 15 healthy controls (HC).

Stroop task and practice effects demonstrate cognitive dysfunction in long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome.

Background: The Stroop task was used to investigate differences in cognitive function between Long COVID (LC), Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and healthy control subjects.

Methods: Subjects viewed four color words or neutral (XXXX) stimuli with the same (congruent) or different color ink (incongruent). Cognitive conflict was inferred from response times for pairings of prestimuli and subsequent stimuli.

Imbalanced Brain Neurochemicals in Long COVID and ME/CFS: A Preliminary Study Using MRI.

Purpose: Long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) patients experience multiple complex symptoms, potentially linked to imbalances in brain neurochemicals. This study aims to measure brain neurochemical levels in long COVID and ME/CFS patients as well as healthy controls to investigate associations with severity measures.

Methods: Magnetic resonance spectroscopy data were acquired with a 3T Prisma magnetic resonance imaging scanner (Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany).

Subcortical and default mode network connectivity is impaired in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex chronic condition with core symptoms of fatigue and cognitive dysfunction, suggesting a key role for the central nervous system in the pathophysiology of this disease. Several studies have reported altered functional connectivity (FC) related to motor and cognitive deficits in ME/CFS patients. In this study, we compared functional connectivity differences between 31 ME/CFS and 15 healthy controls (HCs) using 7 Tesla MRI.

Altered brain connectivity in Long Covid during cognitive exertion: a pilot study.

Introduction: Debilitating Long-Covid symptoms occur frequently after SARS-COVID-19 infection.

Methods: Functional MRI was acquired in 10 Long Covid (LCov) and 13 healthy controls (HC) with a 7 Tesla scanner during a cognitive (Stroop color-word) task. BOLD time series were computed for 7 salience and 4 default-mode network hubs, 2 hippocampus and 7 brainstem regions (ROIs).

Brainstem volume changes in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and long COVID patients.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and long COVID patients have overlapping neurological, autonomic, pain, and post-exertional symptoms. We compared volumes of brainstem regions for 10 ME/CFS (CCC or ICC criteria), 8 long COVID (WHO Delphi consensus), and 10 healthy control (HC) subjects on 3D, T1-weighted MRI images acquired using sub-millimeter isotropic resolution using an ultra-high field strength of 7 Tesla. Group comparisons with HC detected significantly larger volumes in ME/CFS for pons ( = 0.

Anti-Correlated Myelin-Sensitive MRI Levels in Humans Consistent with a Subcortical to Sensorimotor Regulatory Process-Multi-Cohort Multi-Modal Evidence.

Differential axonal myelination synchronises signalling over different axon lengths. The consequences of myelination processes described at the cellular level for the regulation of myelination at the macroscopic level are unknown. We analysed multiple cohorts of myelin-sensitive brain MRI.

Connectivity Between Salience and Default Mode Networks and Subcortical Nodes Distinguishes Between Two Classes of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating disease with unknown pathophysiology. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies in ME/CFS have reported disparate connectivities for the brain salience (SA) network and default mode network (DMN). In this study, we acquired resting-state and task fMRI with an advanced scanner for improved subject numbers: 24 healthy controls (HC) and 42 ME/CFS patients, 18 meeting the International Consensus Criteria (ICC) and 24 meeting the Fukuda criteria.

Identification of transient receptor potential melastatin 3 proteotypic peptides employing an efficient membrane protein extraction method for natural killer cells.

Mutations and misfolding of membrane proteins are associated with various disorders, hence they make suitable targets in proteomic studies. However, extraction of membrane proteins is challenging due to their low abundance, stability, and susceptibility to protease degradation. Given the limitations in existing protocols for membrane protein extraction, the aim of this investigation was to develop a protocol for a high yield of membrane proteins for isolated Natural Killer (NK) cells.

Alteration of Cortical Volume and Thickness in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) patients suffer from neurocognitive impairment. In this study, we investigated cortical volumetric and thickness changes in ME/CFS patients and healthy controls (HC). We estimated mean surface-based cortical volume and thickness from 18 ME/CFS patients who met International Consensus Criteria (ICC) and 26 HC using FreeSurfer.

Volumetric differences in hippocampal subfields and associations with clinical measures in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) patients suffer from a cognitive and memory dysfunction. Because the hippocampus plays a key role in both cognition and memory, we tested for volumetric differences in the subfields of the hippocampus in ME/CFS. We estimated hippocampal subfield volumes for 25 ME/CFS patients who met Fukuda criteria only (ME/CFS ), 18 ME/CFS patients who met the stricter ICC criteria (ME/CFS ), and 25 healthy controls (HC).

Diffusion tensor imaging reveals neuronal microstructural changes in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) patients suffer from a variety of physical and neurological complaints indicating the central nervous system plays a role in ME/CFS pathophysiology. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been used to study microstructural changes in neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we evaluated DTI parameters to investigate microstructural abnormalities in ME/CFS patients.

Neuroimaging characteristics of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS): a systematic review.

Background: Since the 1990s, neuroimaging has been utilised to study Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), a debilitating illness with unknown aetiology. While brain abnormalities in ME/CFS have been identified, relatively little is known regarding which specific abnormalities are consistently observed across research groups and to what extent the observed abnormalities are reproducible.

Method: To identify consistent and inconsistent neuroimaging observations in ME/CFS, this retrospective and systematic review searched for studies in which neuroimaging was used to investigate brain abnormalities in ME/CFS in Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed (NCBI), and Scopus from January 1988 to July 2018.

Mapping of pathological change in chronic fatigue syndrome using the ratio of T1- and T2-weighted MRI scans.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) subjects suffer from a variety of cognitive complaints indicating that the central nervous system plays a role in its pathophysiology. Recently, the ratio T1w/T2w has been used to study changes in tissue myelin and/or iron levels in neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia. In this study, we applied the T1w/T2w method to detect changes in tissue microstructure in ME/CFS patients relative to healthy controls.

A systematic review of neurological impairments in myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome using neuroimaging techniques.

Background: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a multi-system illness characterised by a diverse range of debilitating symptoms including autonomic and cognitive dysfunction. The pathomechanism remains elusive, however, neurological and cognitive aberrations are consistently described. This systematic review is the first to collect and appraise the literature related to the structural and functional neurological changes in ME/CFS patients as measured by neuroimaging techniques and to investigate how these changes may influence onset, symptom presentation and severity of the illness.

Intra brainstem connectivity is impaired in chronic fatigue syndrome.

In myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), abnormal MRI correlations with symptom severity and autonomic measures have suggested impaired nerve signal conduction within the brainstem. Here we analyse fMRI correlations to directly test connectivity within and from the brainstem. Resting and task functional MRI (fMRI) were acquired for 45 ME/CFS (Fukuda criteria) and 27 healthy controls (HC).

Hyperintense sensorimotor T1 spin echo MRI is associated with brainstem abnormality in chronic fatigue syndrome.

We recruited 43 Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) subjects who met Fukuda criteria and 27 healthy controls and performed 3T MRI T1 and T2 weighted spin-echo (T1wSE and T2wSE) scans. T1wSE signal follows T1 relaxation rate (1/T1 relaxation time) and responds to myelin and iron (ferritin) concentrations. We performed MRI signal level group comparisons with SPM12.

Brain function characteristics of chronic fatigue syndrome: A task fMRI study.

The mechanism underlying neurological dysfunction in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is yet to be established. This study investigated the temporal complexity of blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) changes in response to the Stroop task in CFS patients. 43 CFS patients (47.

Decreased Connectivity and Increased Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent Complexity in the Default Mode Network in Individuals with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

The chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)/myalgic encephalomyelitis is a debilitating disease with unknown pathophysiology and no diagnostic test. This study investigated the default mode network (DMN) to understand the pathophysiology of CFS and to identify potential biomarkers. Using functional MRI (fMRI) collected from 72 subjects (45 CFS and 27 controls) with a temporal resolution of 0.

Medial prefrontal cortex deficits correlate with unrefreshing sleep in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Unrefreshing sleep is a hallmark of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS). This study examined brain structure variations associated with sleep quality in patients with CFS. 38 patients with CFS (34.

Progressive brain changes in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: A longitudinal MRI study.

Purpose: To examine progressive brain changes associated with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

Materials And Methods: We investigated progressive brain changes with longitudinal MRI in 15 CFS and 10 normal controls (NCs) scanned twice 6 years apart on the same 1.5 Tesla (T) scanner.

Autonomic correlations with MRI are abnormal in the brainstem vasomotor centre in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Autonomic changes are often associated with the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), but their pathogenetic role is unclear and brain imaging investigations are lacking. The vasomotor centre and, through it, nuclei in the midbrain and hypothalamus play a key role in autonomic nervous system regulation of steady state blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR). In this exploratory cross-sectional study, BP and HR, as indicators of autonomic function, were correlated with volumetric and T1- and T2-weighted spin-echo (T1w and T2w) brain MRI in 25 CFS subjects and 25 normal controls (NC).

Evidence in chronic fatigue syndrome for severity-dependent upregulation of prefrontal myelination that is independent of anxiety and depression.

White matter (WM) involvement in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) was assessed using voxel-based regressions of brain MRI against CFS severity scores and CFS duration in 25 subjects with CFS and 25 normal controls (NCs). As well as voxel-based morphometry, a novel voxel-based quantitative analysis of T1 - and T2 -weighted spin-echo (T1w and T2w) MRI signal level was performed. Severity scores included the Bell CFS disability scale and scores based on the 10 most common CFS symptoms.

Spatial resolution is dependent on image content for SPECT with iterative reconstruction incorporating distance dependent resolution (DDR) correction.

The aim of this study is to determine the dependence of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) spatial resolution on the content of images for iterative reconstruction with distance dependent resolution (DDR) correction. An experiment was performed using a perturbation technique to measure change in resolution of line sources in simple and complex images with iterative reconstruction with increasing iteration. Projections of the line sources were reconstructed alone and again after the addition of projections of a uniform flood or a complex phantom.

Monte Carlo simulations of clinical PET and SPECT scans: impact of the input data on the simulated images.

Monte Carlo simulations of emission tomography have proven useful to assist detector design and optimize acquisition and processing protocols. The more realistic the simulations, the more straightforward the extrapolation of conclusions to clinical situations. In emission tomography, accurate numerical models of tomographs have been described and well validated under specific operating conditions (collimator, radionuclide, acquisition parameters, count rates, etc).