Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40616705›Full record

ArticleEuropean radiology experimental2025

Impact on the microstructure of deep gray matter in unvaccinated patients after moderate-to-severe COVID-19: insights from MRI T1 mapping.

Masia Fahim, Elke Hattingen, Alina Jurcoane, Jan R Schüre, Svenja Klinsing, Julia Koepsell, Kolja Jahnke, Michael W Ronellenfitsch, Ulrich Pilatus, Maria J G T Vehreschild and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European radiology experimental, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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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.

Masia FahimInstitute of Neuroradiology, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Elke HattingenInstitute of Neuroradiology, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. hattingen@med.uni-frankfurt.de.
Alina JurcoaneInstitute of Neuroradiology, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Jan R SchüreInstitute of Neuroradiology, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Svenja KlinsingDepartment of Neurology, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Julia KoepsellDepartment of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Kolja JahnkeDepartment of Neurology, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Michael W RonellenfitschDr. Senckenberg Institute of Neurooncology, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Ulrich PilatusInstitute of Neuroradiology, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Maria J G T VehreschildDepartment of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Ralf DeichmannBrain Imaging Center, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Christophe T ArendtInstitute of Neuroradiology, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. arendt@med.uni-frankfurt.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3300-3729

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTo determine changes in quantitative T1 relaxation times (qT1) in deep gray matter in patients recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

methodsUnvaccinated COVID-19 participants ≥ 3 months after seropositivity and age- and sex-matched controls were examined using 3-T magnetic resonance imaging. Bilateral measures of thalamus, pallidum, putamen, caudate and accumbens nuclei, and hippocampus were extracted from qT1 maps after automated segmentation. Baseline characteristics and results of tests assessing neurological functions (standardized exam), ability to smell (4-Item Pocket Smell Test), depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II), sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale), sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), health-related quality of life (EQ-5D), and cognitive performance (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) were evaluated.

resultsOne hundred forty-five subjects (median age, 46 years; 73 females) were included (11/2020-12/2021): 69 recovered after COVID-19 and 76 controls (age, p = 0.532; sex, p = 0.799), without significant differences in qT1 values overall (all p-values > 0.050). Subgroup analysis of participants aged ≥ 40 (age, p = 0.675; sex, p = 0.447) revealed higher qT1 values in previously hospitalized COVID-19 subjects (23/69) compared to controls (47/76) in left and right caudate nuclei (p = 0.009; p = 0.027), left accumbens nucleus (p = 0.017), right putamen (p = 0.041), and right hippocampus (p = 0.020). No correlations were found with macroscopic imaging findings, pre-existing conditions, time since COVID-19 diagnosis, inpatient treatment duration, or test results.

conclusionT1 mapping revealed microstructural changes in striatal and hippocampal regions of unvaccinated individuals aged ≥ 40 who recovered from moderate-to-severe COVID-19 during the pre-Omicron era. RELEVANCE STATEMENT: This study elucidates brain involvement following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, underscoring the need for further longitudinal analyses to assess the potential reversibility, stability or deterioration of these findings. KEY POINTS: We hypothesized altered T1 relaxation times in deep gray matter after COVID-19. Unvaccinated participants ≥ 40 years exhibited higher striatal, hippocampal qT1 after moderate-to-severe COVID-19. No qT1 correlations were found with hospitalization duration, pre-existing conditions, or neuro-(psycho)logical tests.

Indexed as

COVID-19Gray MatterMagnetic Resonance ImagingAdultCase-Control StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSeverity of Illness IndexUnvaccinated PersonsBrain mappingCOVID-19Gray matterMagnetic resonance imagingSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID40616705
PMCPMC12228859

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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.