30 Nov Long Covid: RSNA Study Highlights Link Between Lung and Brain Function

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Fain

Sean B. Fain, Ph.D.
Professor and
Vice Chair for Research
Department of Radiology
Affiliate Appointments BME and ECE
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: This study uses MRI to investigate connections between lung and brain function. We employ an advanced MRI technique that uses hyperpolarized xenon gas as a contrast agent. This approach allows us to image which parts of the lung are effectively inhaling xenon gas and which parts are not (i.e. ventilation).

Additionally, xenon provides insights into lung gas exchange (i.e. oxygen transfer into and out of the blood), as it freely diffuses into alveolar tissue and binds to red blood cells. Using this technology, we hypothesized that the severity of lung injury in individuals with Long COVID would correlate with the degree of cognitive dysfunction and brain imaging.

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response:  The main findings of the study indicate that lung function, assessed using hyperpolarized xenon, is associated with cognitive function testing, brain volume, and brain perfusion.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response:    My recommendation for future research would be to continue to take a multi-organ approach to studying and treating Long COVID, along with more serious consideration of interventions targeting improvements in gas exchange such as vasodilators. Because of its complex nature, taking a holistic perspective of affected organ systems along the Brain-Heart-Lung axis will help in understanding and characterizing this disease. 

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a results of this study?

Response:   My recommendation for future research would be to continue to take a multi-organ approach to studying and treating Long COVID, along with more serious consideration of interventions targeting improvements in gas exchange such as vasodilators. Because of its complex nature, taking a holistic perspective of affected organ systems along the Brain-Heart-Lung axis will help in understanding and characterizing this disease.

MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add? Any disclosures?

Response: While this is a small study, the strength of the associations suggests an important relationship that points to a potentially broader interaction between lung disease and brain function beyond Long COVID. The possibility exists that the persistence of symptoms in patients with Long COVID are a general feature of respiratory viral infections that manifest in a subset of individuals after acute infection. Possibly we only recognize this phenomenon in this case because of the large number of affected individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. More attention to the Brain-Lung axis should be considered, therefore, for other respiratory virus infections.

SBF, the senior author for this work, has a perceived potential conflict of interest as a scientific advisor and grantee of Polarean LLC, a manufacturer of the polarizer systems of manufacturing the polarized ¹²⁹Xe gas used in these studies. 

Citation: RSNA 2024 abstract

Xenon-129 MRI Pulmonary Gas Exchange in Long COVID is Associated with Cognitive Function and Brain MRI
Other co-authors are Keegan Staab, B.S.,  Marrissa J. McIntosh, Ph.D., Jonathan L. Percy, B.S., Andrew D. Hahn, Ph.D., Natally AlArab, M.D., Conner J. Wharff, B.S. B.A. RT(R)(MR), Eric Bruening, M.S., Alejandro P. Comellas, M.D., Eric A. Hoffman, Ph.D., Carinda Linkenmeyer, M.A.E., Tara Lanning, B.S., and Karin F. Hoth, Ph.D., Sean B. Fain, Ph.D

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Last Updated on November 30, 2024 by Marie Benz MD FAAD