Scans and cognition tests collected from hundreds of people suggest coronavirus The infection is associated with a “significant and harmful” change in the brain, according to a study published Monday by scientists in the United Kingdom.
The paper, published in the journal Nature, is based on data from the UK Biobank of 401 people aged 51 to 81 who had COVID-19 until April 2021.
The researchers analyzed data from brain scans and tests collected from participants both before they became infected with the disease and from a second round conducted later, about five months on average after testing positive.
These data were also compared with the results of 384 similar people who had not become ill, as well as with a handful of people who had pneumonia and the flu.
“To our knowledge, this is the first longitudinal imaging study of SARS-CoV-2 where participants were initially scanned before it became infected,” the study authors wrote.
To measure the impact of the disease On the ability of people to complete cognitive tasks, scientists analyzed test data for “trail formation” where people will time themselves by drawing lines between certain numbers or letters. Those who tested positive for COVID-19 took “significantly longer” to complete the tests, even after excluding people who had survived a case severe enough to be hospitalized.
Evaluating the brain itself using a series of MRI scans, the researchers found evidence of an average decrease in overall brain size after COVID. The scans showed signs of tissue damage to areas of the brain related to smell, as well as a reduction in gray matter in parts related to smell and memory.
“This is worrying. And I think what it suggests is that the balance of information we’re accumulating indicates that VOCID is a disease that could create persistent symptoms,” said former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb. a “Face the Nation”. last yearafter the results of the UK biobank study were first published as a widely shared prepress.
“This is not a benign disease. This is something you want to avoid,” Gottlieb added.
Student “long covid” in the brain
Researchers around the world have stepped up their efforts Study the long-term symptoms of COVID-19 in the brain: part of a series of conditions called “long covid-19” or “post-acute sequelae of COVID-19” that can persist for many months after people appear to have recovered from ‘acute’ stage of your infection.
Last year, a survey published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that about two-thirds of Americans who tested positive reported at least one long-term symptom more than four months after being diagnosed. infected: 55.5% included “cognitive dysfunction,” such as difficulty concentrating or memory loss.
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Funded by a COVID-19 relief bill passed by Congress in 2020, last year the National Institutes of Health made a $ 1.25 billion effort to study the symptoms of COVID-19 in the long run. nationwide called RECOVER initiative. The federal effort covers a series of studies examining the causes and effects of long-term symptoms of COVID-19 that officials hope will be able to unblock upcoming clues to answer questions about the impact the infection has on the brain. .
“The question is, are you basically looking at changes in connections related to the fact that there was a loss of sense of smell? This will look like one thing. Or are you looking at virus-induced lesions? This will look something different. So “This study raises the question that needs to be answered,” said Dr. Walter Koroshetz, director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
RECOVER includes autopsy research, which examines the brains of people who have had COVID for a long time after dying from other causes, such as cancer or a heart attack.
“An MRI basically takes pictures of the water. So it doesn’t tell you what’s going on at the cellular or connection level. But you can get there by looking at the brain tissue under a microscope and using advanced techniques to study it.” . said Koroshetz.
Long-term problems could be related to parts of the virus that still persist in the body, Koroshetz speculated, or the result of immune responses triggered for the first time by infection that harm the body. Finding out the causes will be key to helping scientists develop new treatments, beyond just trying medications designed to reduce people’s symptoms.
“Hopefully, when we get a better understanding of biology, we can test it to try to normalize the body, get rid of the virus, treat the autoimmune reaction, restore the immune system. Hopefully they will be up and running within a year. . “, Koroshetz said.
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