Griffith University reports on research findings that suggests ‘the MRI identified significantly larger hippocampal volume in Long Covid and ME/CFS patients compared to healthy individuals without these conditions'.
Griffith University
Extracts
Striking brain similarities have been detected in patients who experience Long COVID and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), in particular, a larger than normal hippocampus.
The Griffith University research, published today in PLOS ONE, used only one of two ultra-high field MRI machines available in Australia to uncover how Long COVID and ME/CFS similarly impact brain structure.
Director of Griffith’s National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases (NCNED), Professor Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik, said the study aimed to examine the potential overlap with neurological symptoms between the two illnesses.
Hippocampal impairment in Long COVID and ME/CFS patients may play a significant role in cognitive difficulties such as memory problems, difficulty concentrating, and delayed responses to questions or conversations.
Dr Thapaliya
The research was funded by ME Research UK and the Stafford Fox Medical Research Foundation.
The paper Hippocampal Subfield Volume Alterations and Associations with Severity Measures in Long COVID and ME/CFS: A 7T MRI Study was published in PLOS ONE
MEA Comment
Despite the stupid and misleading ABC news headline (ABC: Long COVID patients show brain swelling linked to memory and concentration problems, study finds) referring to ‘brain swelling' this is a small and interesting item of research using neuroimaging to investigate the possible role of the hippocampus in both Long Covid and ME/CFS
This is not the first time that abnormalities involving the hippocampus have been described in ME/CFS. A UK study (funded by the MEA Ramsay Research Fund) involved seven patients with ME/CFS who were matched with ten healthy control subjects of similar age (see button below)
Hippocampal volume, obtained from magnetic resonance images using an unbiased method, showed no difference between the two groups, whereas proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed a significantly reduced concentration of N-acetylaspartate in the right hippocampus of CFS patients (p = 0.005).
As the Australian researchers point out, a disturbance in this part of the brain they may help to explain some of the neurological and cognitive symptoms in both ME/CFS and Long Covid.
Dr Charles Shepherd,
Trustee and Hon. Medical Adviser to the ME Association,
Member of the 2018-2021 NICE guideline on ME/CFS committee,
Member of the 2002 Chief Medical Officer's Working Group on ME/CFS
Further Coverage
- Medical Xpress: MRI study uncovers enlarged hippocampus in long COVID and ME/CFS patients | 11 February 2025
- ME Research UK: Hippocampus enlargement detected in ME/CFS and long COVID patients | 12 February 2025