• Kiran Thapaliya, Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik, Natalie Eaton-Fitch, Zeinab Eftekhari, Maira Inderyas, and Leighton Barnden.
• National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases (NCNED), Griffith University, Australia. Electronic address: k.thapaliya@griffith.edu.au.
• Am. J. Med. 2024 Apr 6.

PurposeLong COVID and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) patients experience multiple complex symptoms, potentially linked to imbalances in brain neurochemicals. This study aims to measure brain neurochemical levels in long COVID and ME/CFS patients as well as healthy controls to investigate associations with severity measures.MethodsMagnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) data was acquired with a 3T Prisma MRI scanner. We measured absolute levels of brain neurochemicals in the posterior cingulate cortex in long COVID (n=17), ME/CFS (n=17), and healthy controls (n=10) using Osprey software. The statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 29. Age and sex were included as nuisance covariates.ResultsGlutamate levels were significantly higher in long COVID (p=0.02) and ME/CFS (p=0.017) than in healthy controls. No significant difference was found between the two patient cohorts. Additionally, N-acetyl-aspartate levels were significantly higher in long COVID patients (p=0.012). Importantly, brain neurochemical levels were associated with self-reported severity measures in long COVID and ME/CFS.ConclusionOur study identified significantly elevated Glutamate and N-acetyl-aspartate levels in long COVID and ME/CFS patients compared with healthy controls. No significant differences in brain neurochemicals were observed between the two patient cohorts, suggesting a potential overlap in their underlying pathology. These findings suggest that imbalanced neurochemicals contribute to the complex symptoms experienced by long COVID and ME/CFS patients.Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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