Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33774378›Full record

ArticleClinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology2021

Intracortical GABAergic dysfunction in patients with fatigue and dysexecutive syndrome after COVID-19.

Viviana Versace, Luca Sebastianelli, Davide Ferrazzoli, Roberto Romanello, Paola Ortelli, Leopold Saltuari, Alessia D'Acunto, Francesco Porrazzini, Valentina Ajello, Antonio Oliviero and 2 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
49citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
7.9field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

49 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 85 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. COVID-19 associated cognitive impairment: A systematic review.Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior · 2022
    Pooled it
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  6. Co-ultramicronized palmitoylethanolamide/luteolin normalizes GABAClinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2023
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  9. Clinical utility and prospective of TMS-EEG: Updated review from an international expert group.Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Viviana VersaceDepartment of Neurorehabilitation, Hospital of Vipiteno (SABES-ASDAA), Vipiteno-Sterzing, Italy. Electronic address: viviana.versace@sabes.it.
Luca SebastianelliDepartment of Neurorehabilitation, Hospital of Vipiteno (SABES-ASDAA), Vipiteno-Sterzing, Italy.
Davide FerrazzoliDepartment of Neurorehabilitation, Hospital of Vipiteno (SABES-ASDAA), Vipiteno-Sterzing, Italy.
Roberto RomanelloDepartment of Neurorehabilitation, Hospital of Vipiteno (SABES-ASDAA), Vipiteno-Sterzing, Italy.
Paola OrtelliDepartment of Neurorehabilitation, Hospital of Vipiteno (SABES-ASDAA), Vipiteno-Sterzing, Italy.
Leopold SaltuariDepartment of Neurorehabilitation, Hospital of Vipiteno (SABES-ASDAA), Vipiteno-Sterzing, Italy.
Alessia D'AcuntoNon-Invasive Brain Stimulation Unit/Department of Behavioral and Clinical Neurology, Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Francesco PorrazziniNon-Invasive Brain Stimulation Unit/Department of Behavioral and Clinical Neurology, Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Valentina AjelloDepartment of Cardiac Anesthesia, Tor Vergata University Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Antonio OlivieroFENNSI Group, Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos, Servicio de Salud de Castilla La Mancha, Toledo, Spain.
Markus KoflerDepartment of Neurology, Hochzirl Hospital, Zirl, Austria.
Giacomo KochNon-Invasive Brain Stimulation Unit/Department of Behavioral and Clinical Neurology, Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Italy.
Fondazione Santa Lucia · ITServicio de Salud de Castilla La Mancha · ESUniversity of Rome Tor Vergata · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveA high proportion of patients experience fatigue and impairment of cognitive functions after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Here we applied transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to explore the activity of the main inhibitory intracortical circuits within the primary motor cortex (M1) in a sample of patients complaining of fatigue and presenting executive dysfunction after resolution of COVID-19 with neurological manifestations.

methodsTwelve patients who recovered from typical COVID-19 pneumonia with neurological complications and complained of profound physical and mental fatigue underwent, 9 to 13 weeks from disease onset, a psychometric evaluation including a self-reported fatigue numeric-rating scale (FRS, Fatigue Rating Scale) and the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). Intracortical activity was evaluated by means of well-established TMS protocols including short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), reflecting GABA

resultsPost-COVID-19 patients reported marked fatigue according to FRS score (8.1 ± 1.7) and presented pathological scores at the FAB based on Italian normative data (12.2 ± 0.7). TMS revealed marked reduction of SICI, and disruption of LICI as compared to HS. SAI was also slightly diminished.

conclusionsThe present study documents for the first time reduced GABAergic inhibition in the M1 in patients who recovered from COVID-19 with neurological complications and manifested fatigue and dysexecutive syndrome. SIGNIFICANCE: TMS may serve as diagnostic tool in cognitive disturbances and fatigue in post-COVID-19 patients.

Indexed as

AgedAged, 80 and overCognitive DysfunctionCOVID-19FatigueFemaleGABAergic NeuronsHumansMaleMiddle AgedMotor CortexTranscranial Magnetic StimulationCOVID-19Executive functionsFatigueGABATMS

Identifiers

PMID33774378
PMCPMC7954785
OpenAlexW3137648771

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.