000K utf8 1100 2025$c2025-10-06 1500 eng 2050 urn:nbn:de:gbv:27-dbt-67790-2 2051 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1653295 3000 Toepffer, Antonia 3010 Ballez, Johanna 3010 Besteher, Bianca 3010 Dunay, Ildiko Rita 3010 Finke, Kathrin 3010 Früh, Marlene 3010 Gaser, Christian 3010 Güllmar, Daniel 3010 Reuken, Philipp A. 3010 Rocktäschel, Tonia 3010 Stallmach, Andreas 3010 Troll, Marie 3010 Vonderlind, Sabine 3010 Walter, Martin 4000 Cognition-associated gray matter volume alterations in long-COVID show sex-specific patterns [Toepffer, Antonia] 4060 14 Seiten 4209 Introduction: The long-term effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are a major concern in today’s society, with cognitive impairment being an important manifestation. Notably, men and women exhibit differences in disease progression and the prevalence of long-COVID. This study aims to investigate sex differences in cognitively impaired long-COVID individuals and their potential association with alterations in gray matter volume (GMV). Methods: We conducted MRI at 3 Tesla to investigate brain structural correlates of cognitive impairment in long-COVID patients using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and compared these patients to a healthy control (HC) group (n=30, female=13, male=17). Long-COVID patients underwent scanning and neuropsychiatric assessment on average 9.9 months after their acute and mostly mild COVID-19 infection. Based on Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores, they were classified into two groups: the PCn group, showing preserved cognitive function with MoCA scores of 26 or higher (n=36, female=23, male=13), and the PCcog group, characterized by cognitive impairment with MoCA scores below 26 (n=28, female=15, male=13). Subsequent analyses were performed separately for males and females to investigate sex-specific brain structural correlates of cognitive impairment. Results: Our analysis revealed significant GMV alterations in long-COVID patients across various brain regions, encompassing both shared and sex-specific regional changes. In females, these alterations were more restricted, affecting anterior frontal, limbic, and diencephalic regions. In males, GMV alterations were more widespread, involving neocortical regions such as the parietal, occipital, and motor cortices, and were characterized by a greater number of affected clusters. Discussion: Our findings demonstrate GMV alterations in both men and women with cognitive impairment, exhibiting sex-specific differences in affected regions. These differences suggest potentially distinct underlying mechanisms, highlighting the need for further research into their functional implications and relevance for personalized treatment strategies. 4950 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1653295$xR$3Volltext$534 4950 https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:27-dbt-67790-2$xR$3Volltext$534 4961 https://www.db-thueringen.de/receive/dbt_mods_00067790 5051 610 5550 cognitive impairment 5550 COVID-19 5550 GMV 5550 long-covid 5550 MOCA 5550 post-COVID 5550 sex-difference 5550 VBM