Long COVID is associated with extensive in-vivo neuroinflammation on [18F]DPA-714 PET

Abstract

Summary A significant number of COVID-19 patients develop ‘long COVID’, a condition defined by long-lasting debilitating, often neurological, symptoms. The pathophysiology of long COVID is unknown. Here we present in-vivo evidence of widespread neuroinflammation in long COVID, using a quantitative assessment, [ 18 F]DPA-714 PET, in two long COVID patients. We reanalyzed historical data from three matched healthy control subjects, for comparison purposes. Both patients with long COVID had widespread increases in [ 18 F]DPA-714 binding throughout the brain. Quantitative measures of binding (BP ND values) were increased on average by 121% and 76%, respectively. This implicates profound neuroinflammation in the pathophysiology of long COVID.