
Fatigue in Post-COVID-Condition is accompanied by hypoperfusion of right-occipital areas 🔥A German eye-opener: COVID-19 itself leaves lasting brain blood-flow reduction, even after full recovery! ➡️“In PCC patients, fatigue was associated with reduced perfusion in right-sided occipital regions, suggesting a potential pathophysiological basis for this symptom.” ➡️“These findings may also provide an imaging biomarker to aid in the diagnosis of PCC”. ‼️But when we dig deeper: ➡️In this prospective cohort of Post-COVID Condition (PCC) patients, severe fatigue (especially physical) strongly correlated with reduced cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the right middle and inferior occipital gyrus. ➡️No global or cortical atrophy vs. recovered COVID-19 controls (FreeSurfer analysis). ➡️No significant group differences in regional CBF after FDR correction, but at an exploratory threshold (p<0.005) reduced CBF in right angular & middle occipital gyrus in PCC, was demonstrated. ➡️SARS-CoV-2 infection itself – even mild and fully recovered – causes persistent cerebral hypoperfusion (mainly frontotemporal) that can still be detected months later. ➡️Previous Long COVID imaging studies that used never-infected “healthy” controls were therefore confounded, much of the reported hypoperfusion may simply reflect residual effects of having had COVID-19, not PCC-specific pathology. ➡️By using recovered COVID-19 subjects as controls, this study better isolates fatigue-related right-sided occipital hypoperfusion as a feature more specific to ongoing Post-COVID Condition, mirroring patterns seen in ME/CFS. ‼️So, if I summarised correctly: - Everyone who had COVID-19 tends to have some lasting reduction in brain blood flow (CBF), mainly in frontotemporal areas – even if they feel 100% recovered. - In Post-COVID Condition (PCC) the decline is more pronounced in severity and more localised to right parieto-occipital regions, and this specific occipital reduction strongly tracks with fatigue. 😷Do you still want to get re-infected? AVOID SARSCOV2!! journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…

























