Random forest classifiers show myelin alterations in Long-COVID
Motivation: Some people exposed to SARS-CoV-2 experience persistent symptoms months after recovering from acute infection. These symptoms, grouped under the umbrella of “long-COVID”, include neurological and autonomic dysfunctions for which there is not yet a clear explanation. Goal(s): To identify biophysically meaningful features characterising long-COVID pathophysiology in the brain. Approach: A novel multimodal MRI protocol was developed to measure iron accumulation, myelin content, inflammation, microstructure alterations, atrophy, and cerebral blood flow changes. Machine learning was employed to discriminate long-COVID from controls and people who fully recovered. Results: Alterations in bound-pool fraction (myelin content) emerge in long-COVID. Impact: This study encourages investigating the neurological aspect of long-COVID and its interplay with conditions affecting myelin as it shows that long-COVID may cause myelin alterations or be more likely to occur in people with compromised myelin content in the brain.
Authors
- Nicolò Rolandi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6801-9440)
- Janine Makaronidis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1045-2871)
- Fulvia Palesi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5027-8770)
- R. H. Samson
- Carmen Tur (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1849-3184)
- Michael S. Zandi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9612-9401)
- Elena Grosso
- Jed Wingrove (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0454-1299)
- Claudia A. M. Gandini Wheeler‐Kingshott (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4832-1300)
- Francesco Grussu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0945-3909)
- Marios Yiannakas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4986-446X)
- Ferrán Prados (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7872-0142)
- Madiha Shatila
- Egidio D’Angelo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6007-7187)
- Olga Ciccarelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7485-1367)
- Baris Kanber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2443-8800)
- Rachel L. Batterham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5477-8585)
- Marco Battiston (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2231-2251)
- Antonio Ricciardi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7461-051X)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Proceedings on CD-ROM - International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Scientific Meeting and Exhibition/Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Scientific Meeting and Exhibition
- Published
- 2024-11-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.58530/2024/4519
- Primary Topic
- Long-Term Effects of COVID-19
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00