CASE REPORT
 
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Introduction and Objective:
The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a new, neuromarker-based form of neurotherapy for a patient with anxiety disorders and anomic aphasia after a neurosurgical operation for a ruptured brain aneurysm of the left middle cerebral artery (MCA), detected after COVID-19.

Case Report:
A 78-year-old right-handed patient, not previously treated for any chronic diseases except stage II hypertension, contracted COVID-19, confirmed by real time RT- PCR. He was treated on an outpatient basis. Two months later, he developed an unusually severe headache and disorientation. A ruptured brain aneurysm of the left MCA was diagnosed. The patient underwent a neurosurgical operation – clipping– very well, with no neurological or neuropsychiatric disorders, except for mild aphasia and occasional anxiety attacks. Four weeks after surgery, anxiety disorder and mild aphasia worsened. High levels of anxiety on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) Scale, and mild anomic aphasia in the Boston Naming Test (BNT) was found. A functional neuromarker of anxiety in comparision to a normative database (Human Brain Index, HBI) was detected. The patient was offered a new, neuromarker-based form of neurotherapy, which proved effective in reducing the disorders. The patient improved in social communication and is gradually returning to social activities.

Conclusion:
In patients with anxiety disorders, anomic aphasia and related difficulties in social functioning after aSAH, especially after COVID-19, multidimensional diagnosis and therapy, preferably based on functional neuromarkers, is needed. HBI methodology can be successfully used in the neurodiagnosis and implementation of individualized neurotherapy for such patients.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors extend their thanks to the entire neuropsychology team at the Reintegrative and Teaching Center of the Polish Neuropsychological Society, where we acquired the methods in the field of neuroscience relating to diagnosis and treatment. In particular, we would like to thank Prof. Juri D. Kropotov for his great help in the interpretation of the results, and also Prof. Bruce D. MacQueen, Dr. Elżbieta Zając and Dr. Jan Bajger for their invaluable comments during the writing of this article.
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