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Choroid plexus alterations in long COVID and their associations with Alzheimer's disease risks
Pang H, Frontera J, Jiang L, Li C, Boutajangout A, Sun Z, Debure L, Ghuman M et al.. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2026-02-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Introduction Choroid plexus (ChP) enlargement is a neuroimaging biomarker of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. However, evidence of ChP structural and perfusion alterations in long coronavirus disease (COVID) and their clinical relevance remains limited. Methods This study included 86 long COVID, 67 recovered COVID, and 26 COVID-negative healthy controls (HCs). ChP volume and cerebral blood flow (CBF) were quantified, and their associations with Alzheimer's disease (AD) symptoms and plasma biomarkers were examined. Results Both patient groups showed higher ChP volume and lower CBF than HC. Relative to recovered COVID, long COVID patients had a larger ChP volume, but no significant difference in CBF. ChP volume correlated positively with glial fibrillary acidic protein (r = 0.35) and phosphorylated tau217 (p-tau217; r = 0.54), while CBF correlated negatively with p-tau217 (r = -0.56). Both ChP volume and CBF were associated with cognitive decline measured with Mini-Mental State Examination and Clinical Dementia Rating. Discussion These findings suggest that ChP differences in long COVID are associated with AD-related cognitive decline and increased plasma biomarkers. Highlights Long coronavirus disease (COVID) patients show choroid plexus (ChP) enlargement and reduced cerebral blood flow. ChP alterations are associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related symptoms and plasma biomarker changes. ChP alterations on magnetic resonance imaging may serve as imaging markers for tracking neurological symptoms and AD-related pathology in post-COVID patients.
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APA 7th
Pang, H., Frontera, J., Jiang, L., Li, C., Boutajangout, A., Sun, Z., et al. (2026). Choroid plexus alterations in long COVID and their associations with Alzheimer's disease risks. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71020
Vancouver
Pang H, Frontera J, Jiang L, Li C, Boutajangout A, Sun Z, et al. Choroid plexus alterations in long COVID and their associations with Alzheimer's disease risks. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2026. doi:10.1002/alz.71020. PMID: 41612939.
BibTeX
@article{pang2026-41612939,
author = {Pang, H. and Frontera, J. and Jiang, L. and Li, C. and Boutajangout, A. and Sun, Z. and Debure, L. and Ghuman, M. and others},
title = {{Choroid plexus alterations in long COVID and their associations with Alzheimer's disease risks}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1002/alz.71020},
pmid = {41612939},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71020}
}
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Key findings
- Results Both patient groups showed higher ChP volume and lower CBF than HC.
- Relative to recovered COVID, long COVID patients had a larger ChP volume, but no significant difference in CBF.
- Both ChP volume and CBF were associated with cognitive decline measured with Mini-Mental State Examination and Clinical Dementia Rating.
- Discussion These findings suggest that ChP differences in long COVID are associated with AD-related cognitive decline and increased plasma biomarkers.
- ChP alterations are associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related symptoms and plasma biomarker changes.
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Study details
- Participants86
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 33 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 57 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 86 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41612939) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 33 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 33 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 57 out of 100. |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
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