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

• Published in: Frontiers in neuroscience Vol. 17; p. 1125208
• Main Authors: Thapaliya, Kiran, Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya, Barth, Markus, Eaton-Fitch, Natalie, Barnden, Leighton
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 02.03.2023
• Subjects: brainstem; breathing difficulty; long COVID; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome; Neuroscience; pain; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); pain; brainstem; long COVID; breathing difficulty; myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome
• ISSN: 1662-4548; 1662-453X; 1662-453X
• DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1125208

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 ( = 0.004) and whole brainstem ( = 0.01), and in long COVID for pons ( = 0.003), superior cerebellar peduncle ( = 0.009), and whole brainstem ( = 0.005). No significant differences were found between ME/CFS and long COVID volumes. In ME/CFS, we detected positive correlations between the pons and whole brainstem volumes with "pain" and negative correlations between the midbrain and whole brainstem volumes with "breathing difficulty." In long COVID patients a strong negative relationship was detected between midbrain volume and "breathing difficulty." Our study demonstrated an abnormal brainstem volume in both ME/CFS and long COVID consistent with the overlapping symptoms.