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Russian Military Medical
ORIGINAL ARTICLES Vol. 41 (4) 2022 Academy Reports
356
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17816/rmmar111888
Research Article
Microstructural changes in the brain in persons

with mild COVID-19

Larisa V. Lukina, Natalia I. Ananieva, Natalya Yu. Safonova, Yan A. Ershov
V.M. Bekhterev National Medical Research Center of psychiatry and neurology, Saint Petersburg, Russia

BACKGROUND: The purpose of which was to investigate, using voxel-based MR morphometry, changes in the volume of
brain structures in persons who had undergone a new coronavirus disease.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: 34 patients with mild COVID-19 between 4 months and one year were examined. All study
participants were scanned at two time points: before COVID-19 infection and re-imaging after infection. The comparison group
consisted of 30 healthy volunteers who did not have COVID-19 and were comparable in terms of sex, age, timing and MRI
protocol.
RESULTS: In the main and control groups a significant increase in the volume of individual segments of the large hemi-
sphere cortex, subcortical gray matter, and white matter of the brain was detected. Signs of atrophic process were registered in
the cerebellar cortex and left frontal lobe. In the main group there was an increase of cortical volume practically in all cerebral
lobes with some emphasis on the posterior parts of the right hemisphere. When analyzing changes of subcortical gray matter in
the main group, there was reliable (p ≤ 0.05) increase of its total volume due to left caudate nucleus, pale ball, right amygdala
body and ventral diencephalon. Increased volume of white matter of the brain in COVID-19 patients was detected in the left
isthmus and rostral part of the right cingulate gyrus, left paracentral lobe, and right precuneus.
CONCLUSION: the cerebellum is affected quite early by SARS-CoV-2, as we recorded atrophic changes in its cortex at
4–12 months. In COVID-19, the microstructural integrity, predominantly of gray matter and other brain segments, is impaired.
Increased volume of these structures indicates the duration of the inflammatory process. An increase in the volume of these
structures may indicate the duration of the inflammatory process.

Keywords: brain; cerebellum; COVID-19; MRI; SARS-CoV-2; segmentation; voxel-based morphometry.
To cite this article:
Lukina LV, Ananieva NI, Safonova NYu, Ershov YA. Microstructural changes in the brain in persons with mild COVID-19. Russian Military Medical
Academy Reports. 2022;41(4):355–363. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17816/rmmar111888

Received: 12.10.2022 Accepted: 14.10.2022 Published: 17.11.2022

The article can be used under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license
© Authors, 2022