Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Even mild infection may be bad for our brains
Scientists have revealed some of the strongest evidence but Covid-19 can endanger our brain – especially in areas associated with odor and memory But they warn that more investigations are needed to understand whether the clear patterns they find among the hundreds of English people they learn do indeed mean long-term damage In one of the largest studies of its kind to date, and to be published in the prestigious scientific journal, the research team led by Professor Oxford University GwenaLe Douud analyzed changes in the brain of 785 participants in Biobank in England.
People in this study have two brain scans about 38 months apart, and also undergo cognitive tests A total of 401 participants were positively tested with Covid-19 infection which were mostly mild between their two scans, while 384 uninfected people were used as age and control that matched the sex for this study When the researchers compared the two groups from time to time, they found “significant, detrimental” long-term effects among viral-infected people: Especially reducing gray material thickness in areas associated with odor and memory of events.
They also observe network damage in areas associated with smell, while post-infected people show a greater cognitive decline than control between scanning On average, infected participants with SARS-COV-2 also show a greater cognitive decline between their two scans, related to brain territory atrophy known as small brains, which are related to cognition, “the researchers said in the press statement “These findings can show the degenerative spread of Covid-19, either through smelling paths, inflammation of the nervous system or lack of sensory input because of the loss of odor.”
What is important, the documented effect is still seen after excluding 15 people who have been hospitalized with Covid-19 – which implies even mild diseases may have consequences for the brain. The future vulnerability of affected areas, they conclude, ensure further investigation The University of Auckland Neuroscientist Professor Maurice Curtis said shrinkage or loss of brain volume shown in this study was “significant” – exceeding the difference of six percent on average.
“Next, those who show this shrinkage, are done significantly worse in the executive function, visual search and mental flexibility test,” he said “We know that losing a very early smell in Covid-19 is the key signs of infection and some people never get their smell back “The smell and the memory path in the brain is connected and this is the same path that is influenced by some dementias, including Alzheimer’s disease. He also showed the conclusions of the research writer that Covid-19 caused depreciation – while those infected with seasonal flu did not produce such effects “This study shows that there are long-term consequences for obtaining Covid-19 and it highlights the importance of taking all possible actions to reduce the impact of Covid-19 in the body and especially the brain.”
Other kiwi brain experts, Dr. Indranil Basak from the Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disease and Lisosom of the University of Otago, said the study findings were “very interesting, but also worrying” The research team itself is exploring what happens to our brain – at the molecular and cellular level – when exposure to the virus “The results of our experiments will help us understand what is happening in cells, which can cause changes in the brain highlighted in this study,” he said Our initial data shows some infections in brain cells, including neurons. However, we still do not know whether the virus can enter these cells after crossing the blood-brain barrier, or if the symptoms we see in cells are due . Of the other reasons. “
For example, he said, they will observe the immune response that occurs when the virus infects our body, which can cause secondary effects that affect brain cells too “There must be several cases where patients infected with viruses begin to get neurological symptoms such as dizziness, disturbed awareness, headaches, smell and taste, seizures, encephalitis and have a relationship with Parkinson’s disease,” said Basak “From this research and ourselves, there is clearly an effect on the brain from Covid-19 infection, and this can cause several long covid effects “We still don’t know how to treat this, because no one has seen it. But we know that viruses directly, or indirectly, can affect the human brain.”
