PET Imaging Can Accurately Measure Cognitive Impairment in COVID-19 Patients

The detailed depiction of areas of cognitive impairment, neurological symptoms and comparison of impairment over a six-month time frame has been selected as SNMMI’s 2021 Image of the Year.

To study cognitive impairment associated with COVID-19, the researchers carried out a prospective study on recently diagnosed COVID-19 patients who required inpatient treatment for non-neurological complaints. A cognitive assessment was performed, followed by imaging with 18F-FDG PET if at least two new neurological symptoms were present. By comparing COVID-19 patients to controls, the researchers established a COVID-19-related covariance pattern of brain metabolism with most prominent decreases in cortical regions. Across patients, the expression of this pattern showed a very high correlation with the patients’ cognitive performance. Follow-up PET imaging was performed six months after the initial COVID-19 diagnosis. Imaging results showed a significant improvement in the neurocognitive deficits in most patients, accompanied by an almost complete normalization of the brain metabolism.

“We can clearly state that a significant recovery of regional neuronal function and cognition occurs for most COVID-19 patients based on the results of this study. However, it is important to recognize the evidence of longer-lasting deficits in neuronal function and accompanying cognitive deficits is still measurable in some patients six months after manifestation of disease,” said Ganna Blazhenets, PhD, a post-doctoral researcher in Medical Imaging at the University Medical Center Freiburg. “As a result, post-COVID-19 patients with persistent cognitive complaints should be presented to a neurologist and possibly allocated to cognitive rehabilitation programs.”

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University Medical Center Freiburg