Innovative lung-imaging technique shows cause of long-COVID symptoms

By having study participants inhale polarized xenon gas while inside the MRI, the researchers see in real-time the function of the 300'500 million tiny alveolar sacs, which are responsible for delivering oxygen to the blood. (Supplied photo/Paulina Wyszkiewicz) - Many who experience what is now called 'long-COVID' report feeling brain fog, breathless, fatigued and limited in doing everyday things, often lasting weeks and months post-infection. Using functional MRI with inhaled xenon gas, researchers have now identified for the first time, that these debilitating symptoms are related to microscopic abnormalities that affect how oxygen is exchanged from the lungs to the red blood cells. The LIVECOVIDFREE study, based at five centres across Ontario, and led by Western University professor Grace Parraga, is the largest MRI study of patients with long-COVID. The research, published in Radiology , is the first to show a potential cause of these long-COVID symptoms. By understanding the cause, team members responsible for patient care have been able to target treatment for these patients. "I think it is always a conundrum when someone has symptoms, but you can't identify the problem.