A new study suggests that difficulty concentrating, often called “brain fog,” in people with long COVID may be connected to how well their lungs exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide.
The findings, presented at the Radiological Society of North America’s annual meeting, shed light on the connection between lung and brain health.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, about 17.6% of U.S. adults have experienced long COVID, a condition where symptoms persist for weeks, months, or even years after recovering from COVID-19.
Common symptoms include fatigue, joint pain, shortness of breath, changes in taste or smell, digestive issues, and brain fog.
Researchers at the University of Iowa conducted the first-ever study to use MRI scans to assess both lung and brain function in long COVID patients.
The study’s lead author, Keegan Staab, explained, “This research combines unique imaging methods to explore how the lungs and brain are connected in long COVID.”
For the study, 12 patients—10 women and two men, with an average age of 59—were recruited from a post-COVID clinic.
These patients reported ongoing fatigue and/or shortness of breath after recovering from COVID-19.
The researchers used advanced imaging techniques like hyperpolarized xenon (129Xe) MRI, which can measure lung function more sensitively than standard breathing tests, along with brain MRIs and cognitive tests.
The results showed that patients with lower lung gas exchange, where oxygen moves from the lungs into the blood and carbon dioxide moves out, were more likely to have cognitive difficulties.
These difficulties ranged from mild issues to more serious problems like slow thinking and frequent trouble concentrating.
Patients with lower lung function also had lower brain gray and white matter volumes, suggesting that lung and brain health are closely connected in long COVID.
Interestingly, the researchers found a link between poor lung function and increased blood flow to the brain.
They believe this could be a compensatory mechanism—when the lungs aren’t working efficiently, the body might try to increase oxygen delivery to the brain through higher blood flow. Another possibility is that the same disease process affecting the lungs might also harm the brain’s blood vessels.
Senior author Dr. Sean Fain said these findings could guide new treatments for long COVID, focusing on improving lung function to reduce brain fog. “If these results apply broadly, they suggest that targeting better lung gas exchange might also improve cognitive function,” he said.
The study highlights the need for larger research efforts to understand the relationship between lungs and brain function in long COVID.
It also suggests that gas exchange tests could help identify patients who need additional care or long-term monitoring.
If you care about COVID, please read studies about vitamin D deficiency linked to severe COVID-19, death, and how diets could help manage post-COVID syndrome.
For more health information, please see recent studies about COVID infection and vaccination linked to heart disease, and results showing extracts from two wild plants can inhibit COVID-19 virus.
