| Autor: |
Martin, Eva Maria, Srowig, Annie, Utech, Isabelle, Schrenk, Simon, Kattlun, Fabian, Radscheidt, Monique, Brodoehl, Stefan, Bublak, Peter, Schwab, Matthias, Geis, Christian, Besteher, Bianca, Reuken, Philipp A., Stallmach, Andreas, Finke, Kathrin |
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| Zdroj: |
Journal of Neurology; Jan2024, Vol. 271 Issue 1, p46-58, 13p |
| Abstrakt: |
Background: Fatigue is a frequent and one of the most debilitating symptoms in post-COVID syndrome (PCS). Recently, we proposed that fatigue is caused by hypoactivity of the brain's arousal network and reflected by a reduction of cognitive processing speed. However, it is unclear whether cognitive slowing is revealed by standard neuropsychological tests, represents a selective deficit, and how it develops over time. Objectives: This prospective study assesses whether PCS patients show deficits particularly in tests relying on processing speed and provides the first longitudinal assessment focusing on processing speed in PCS patients. Methods: Eighty-eight PCS patients with cognitive complaints and 50 matched healthy controls underwent neuropsychological assessment. Seventy-seven patients were subsequently assessed at 6-month follow-up. The Test for Attentional Performance measured tonic alertness as primary study outcome and additional attentional functions. The Neuropsychological Assessment Battery evaluated all key cognitive domains. Results: Patients showed cognitive slowing indicated by longer reaction times compared to control participants (r = 0.51, p < 0.001) in a simple-response tonic alertness task and in all more complex tasks requiring speeded performance. Reduced alertness correlated with higher fatigue (r = − 0.408, p < 0.001). Alertness dysfunction remained unchanged at 6-month follow-up (p = 0.240) and the same was true for most attention tasks and cognitive domains. Conclusion: Hypoarousal is a core deficit in PCS which becomes evident as a selective decrease of processing speed observed in standard neuropsychological tests. This core deficit persists without any signs of amelioration over a 6-month period of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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