How did COVID-19 affect the brain? Scientists were surprised by new research on convalescents

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COVID-19 is not only a respiratory disease. It affects many organs, including the brain. At the end of January, a study was published, the results of which surprised scientists. One in eight survivors were diagnosed with psychiatric or neurological problems within six months of falling ill. This also applies to people who have had COVID-19 at home. What specific problems have patients been diagnosed with, and how long can they persist?

1. It has been known for months that SARS-CoV-2 can attack other organs as well, including the brain, spinal cord and neurons
2. New Oxford University study: One in eight people after COVID-19 is diagnosed with a psychiatric or neurological condition for the first time within six months of being diagnosed
3. How long can these conditions last? Dr. Taquet: We don’t know the answer to that question yet
4. You can find more about the coronavirus epidemic on the Onet homepage.

COVID-19 and its effects on the nervous system. What are the symptoms?

COVID-19 is primarily considered a respiratory disease. However, it has been known for months that SARS-CoV-2 can also attack other organs. This is because the receptors that make it easier for the coronavirus to attach to and enter cells are found in many tissues.

Already in spring, scientists suspected that COVID-19 was also a threat to the nervous system – the brain, spinal cord and nerves. This was confirmed by the symptoms observed in patients (including headaches and impaired sense of smell and taste), as well as the results of autopsy of patients who died from COVID-19. In April, researchers in Japan published the first report of a patient with COVID-19 who had swollen and inflamed brain tissues as a result of infection. Another report described a patient suffering from damage to the myelin, the sheath that protects neurons, in the course of COVID-19 (such damage is seen in neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis).

1. The coronavirus affects not only the lungs. It affects all organs

Symptoms also included anxiety, depression, insomnia, delirium (a state of confusion in which a person feels disconnected from reality, as if they were dreaming), confusion, forgetfulness, inability to focus, communication problems – described by the non-medical term “brain fog” or paraesthesia, which is unusual skin sensations such as a tingling sensation or a feeling of chill for no apparent physical reason.

Coronvirus: A mental or neurological disorder affects one in eight survivors

Recently, The Guardian described the results of research by scientists from the psychiatry department of the University of Oxford (not yet reviewed). For analyzes, scientists used electronic medical records of 236. 379 hospitalized and non-hospitalized US patients who have been confirmed with COVID-19. They were compared with the group diagnosed with influenza and with those diagnosed with respiratory infections between January 20 and December 13, 2020. The study took into account factors such as age, gender, race, basic physical and mental conditions.

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It found that one in eight survivors of COVID-19 were diagnosed with a psychiatric or neurological disease for the first time in their lives within six months of being diagnosed. One-third of patients with a history of psychiatric / neurological illness who underwent COVID-19 developed problems. It was also noticed that these complications occurred more often in hospitalized patients.

What ailments were diagnosed? This includes dementia, psychotic disorders (disturbance in perception of reality), intracranial haemorrhage. Reconstructionists also reported hallucinations, coordination problems, and memory lapses. One in nine patients is diagnosed with depression or stroke (scientists warn that it may be the first symptom of COVID-19 in patients under the age of 50, more and more doctors even talk about the so-called covid strokes). These problems arose despite the fact that the course of COVID-19 was not severe and they contracted the infection at home. According to the lead author of the study, Dr. Max Taquet of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford, the results are surprising.

Physician Concerns: For some convalescents, the psychological effects of the disease may be permanent

One of the most important questions is how long can these conditions last? “I don’t think we know the answer to that question yet,” admits Dr. Taquet. Some experts fear that, for some survivors, the effects may be permanent and even lead to an “epidemic of brain damage”.

1. COVID-19 patients can suffer from “brain fog”. It lasts for months

– I’m worried we now have millions of people with COVID-19. And if in a year’s time we have 10 million people cured and these people have cognitive deficits, it will affect their daily lives and their ability to work, Adrian Owen, neuroscientist at Western University in Canada told Reuters.

The researchers recall that the analysis does not prove that COVID-19 is directly behind these psychiatric and neurological conditions and should be interpreted with caution. It is possible that some patients who are diagnosed psychiatric or neurologically after COVID-19 have had the disease before but were not diagnosed.

It should also be taken into account that the first entry of the diagnosis into the electronic database may not be the first occurrence of the disease state.

However, Dr. Tim Nicholson, a psychiatrist and clinical lecturer at King’s College Hospital who was not involved in the study, points out that the results of the analyzes could initiate further detailed research into neurological and psychiatric complications in people after COVID-19. “I think this applies especially to several disorders, including dementia and psychosis,” he told The Guardian.

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