PhD defence Noa van der Knaap

Keywords: COVID-19, Brain, MRI, Long-term effects

"Resonating Critical Illness: An integrated multimodal MRI and biomarker perspective on brain health after severe COVID-19"

This dissertation investigated the long-term effects of severe COVID-19 on the brain. Many patients who required intensive care during the pandemic reported ongoing cognitive problems, such as difficulties with memory and concentration. Because routine brain scans often appear relatively normal, this research used advanced MRI techniques to detect subtle changes that might otherwise go unnoticed.

The results showed that, even two years after infection, survivors of severe COVID-19 can have reduced blood flow in the brain, small vessel dysfunction, and less efficient communication between brain regions. Some of these changes were related to the severity of inflammation and abnormal blood clotting during intensive care admission. Similar brain changes were also found in survivors of other critical illnesses. This suggests that these abnormalities are not unique to COVID-19, but may reflect more general consequences of severe illness.

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