Brain Blood Flow Abnormalities Found in Older Adults with Long COVID

Medical News: American researchers from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and the Medical College of Wisconsin have uncovered striking changes in brain blood flow patterns among older adults suffering from long COVID, revealing a potential explanation for the lingering cognitive symptoms like memory problems and brain fog.


Brain Blood Flow Abnormalities Found in Older Adults with Long COVID

The study focused on a key indicator of neurovascular health known as cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR). This refers to how well blood vessels in the brain can respond to changing oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. Poor CVR is often linked to aging and neurodegenerative conditions, but now it is also being implicated in the growing list of complications tied to long COVID. This Medical News report dives into the detailed findings and implications of this important study.
 
Alarming Brain Blood Flow Irregularities Detected in Long COVID Patients
The research team examined 31 older adults who had mild COVID-19 infections but developed long COVID symptoms, including persistent cognitive complaints. These individuals were compared to 31 healthy older adults who did not report long COVID symptoms.
 
Using a specialized MRI technique during a breath-holding task, scientists measured CVR across the brain. The results were concerning. Individuals with long COVID showed significantly more areas with extreme CVR abnormalities - clusters of brain tissue where blood flow responses were highly unusual. These abnormal clusters were larger in size and more widespread compared to those in the healthy control group.
 
Notably, these changes were most prevalent in parts of the brain responsible for attention and executive functioning. This supports what many long COVID sufferers have reported: trouble concentrating, finding words, and multitasking. The ventral attention network, default mode network, and somatomotor network were among the most affected regions.
 
More Symptoms Linked to More Brain Blood Flow Disruption
Further analysis revealed a strong link between the number of cognitive symptoms reported by long COVID patients and the degree of CVR abnormality. Those who experienced more intense or numerous cognitive issues were more likely to have severe disruptions in brain blood flow, particularly in networks responsible for focus and processing external stimuli.
 
This was not just limited to subjective symptoms either. Objective neuropsychological tests showed that those with higher CVR abnormalities tended to perform worse on memory tests, suggesting these brain changes are not just perceived, but measurable.
 
Older Adults at Particular Risk
The findings are especially troubling for older adults. CVR already tends to decline with age, and long COVID appears to be accelerating or worsening this process. The researchers noted that even small neurovascular abnormalities might be enough to push some older adults into noticeable cognitive decline, potentially unmasking early stages of neurodegenerative diseases.
 
One possible explanation involves damage to endothelial cells - the lining of blood vessels - caused by the virus. These cells are essential for maintaining proper blood flow and responding to inflammation. If they are compromised, the brain’s ability to regulate oxygen delivery is impaired, which can affect thinking and memory.
 
The CVR test used in the study, based on breath-holding during MRI, offers a non-invasive way to measure this decline, possibly serving as an early diagnostic tool for long COVID-related cognitive issues.
 
More Than Just Memory Loss
The study participants with long COVID not only reported memory issues but also difficulty with concentration, problem-solving, language, and multitasking. These widespread complaints point to a general disruption of brain function rather than isolated deficits. The presence of extreme CVR clusters in multiple functional brain networks supports the idea that long COVID may be causing widespread changes in neurovascular function.
 
Interestingly, while memory was the most consistently impacted area, tests of attention and fluency also showed trends toward poorer performance among the long COVID group.
 
Why This Matters and What Comes Next
This research provides concrete evidence that long COVID is associated with real, measurable changes in brain blood flow. It helps validate the experiences of millions of people who continue to suffer cognitive symptoms months or even years after recovering from COVID-19.
 
The study also highlights the need for follow-up care and monitoring in older adults who had COVID-19, even if their initial infection was mild. Changes in CVR might be used in the future as a screening tool to identify individuals at risk of developing cognitive decline.
 
The researchers suggest that future studies should investigate whether these vascular changes can be reversed or mitigated with treatment. There is also a need to examine how different COVID-19 variants, vaccination status, and reinfection may influence CVR and long-term brain health.
 
Conclusions
The findings from this pioneering study indicate that older adults with long COVID exhibit clear and concerning changes in brain blood flow regulation, particularly in areas related to memory, attention, and cognitive processing. These changes correlate strongly with both subjective complaints and measurable deficits on cognitive tests. As cerebrovascular reactivity is a marker of brain health and aging, long COVID may be accelerating processes usually associated with neurodegeneration. The use of advanced imaging techniques like CVR mapping could become a vital tool in assessing and managing cognitive risks in post-COVID patients. Urgent research is needed to determine whether these changes are reversible and what interventions might help restore normal brain function.
 
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Frontiers in Neurology.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1504573/full
 
For the latest COVID-19 News, keep on logging to Thailand Medical News
 
Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-alters-brain-blood-flow
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/american-scientists-discover-lower-white-matter-cerebral-blood-flow-in-those-who-have-recovered-from-mild-covid-19
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/sars-cov-2-alters-brain-oxygen-levels-and-causes-sleepiness-and-attention-issues-in-post-covid-phase
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/coronavirus
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/long-covid
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/pages/thailand_doctors_listings