Tag: pons

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

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 (p = 0.004) and whole brainstem (p = 0.01), and in long COVID for pons (p = 0.003), superior cerebellar peduncle (p = 0.009), and whole brainstem (p = 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.

Source: Thapaliya K, Marshall-Gradisnik S, Barth M, Eaton-Fitch N, Barnden L. Brainstem volume changes in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and long COVID patients. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2023 March 2; 17:1125208. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2023.1125208/full (Full text)

Postviral fatigue syndrome

Comment on: Possible upregulation of hypothalamic 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors in patients with postviral fatigue syndrome. [BMJ. 1992]

 

EDITOR, -A M 0 Bakheit and colleagues recently reported’ a possible upregulation of hypothalamic 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors in patients with the postviral fatigue syndrome, giving some evidence for hypothalamic functional abnormalities in these patients, which are different from others with depression. There is a growing body of evidence which claims that this clinical condition is organic and cannot be simply perceived as a somatisation disorder in patients with predisposition to psychiatric disease.”

We reviewed and quantitatively analysed with Ceretec and single photon emission tomography the brain perfusion of 14 patients fulfilling the Oxford criteria for diagnosis of myalgic encephalomyelitis. They had all had disease for more than six months (more than half the time) manifested with generalised malaise and myalgia, as well as significant physical and intellectual disability. None had any medical condition known to produce fatigue or had recently or in the past had psychiatric disease. When compared with a group of 24 nondepressed age and sex matched controls (normal volunteers) there was significant reduction of the perfusion to several areas of the brain cortex but particularly the brain stem (table).

You can read the rest of this comment here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1882397/pdf/bmj00077-0053b.pdf

 

Source: Costa DC, Brostoff J, Douli V, Ell PJ. Postviral fatigue syndrome. BMJ. 1992 Jun 13;304(6841):1567. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1882397/