The data used in the paper was gathered in the U.K. and published in Nature journal. Biobank was created from data collected by 401 individuals between 51 and 81 who were diagnosed with COVID-19 during April 2021.
Researchers analysed data from brain scans, tests, and other information from participants before and after they became infected. The second round was conducted about five months later.
The data was also compared with results from 384 people who were not sick and a few people who had been diagnosed with influenza or pneumonia.
The study’s authors stated that this was the first longitudinal imaging study of SARS/CoV-2 in which participants were scanned before they became infected.
The scientists used data from “trail-making”, tests in which people draw lines between numbers and letters to measure the disease’s effect on cognitive tasks. The tests were completed in significantly longer time for those who had been diagnosed with COVID-19, even after eliminating people who had been hospitalized.
The researchers examined the brain through a series MRI scans and found evidence of a decrease in brain size after COVID. The scans revealed tissue damage in brain areas related to smell as well as gray matter reduction in those parts that are linked to memory and smell.
“This is alarming. It is concerning.
This is not a benign condition. Gottlieb said, “This is something you should avoid.”
The brain’s “long COVID” study
Researchers from all over the globe have intensified their efforts to investigate long-term symptoms of COVID-19 brain infection. This condition is part of a range of conditions called “long COVID” and ” post acute sequelae of CoVID-19.” These conditions can last for months even after people have recovered from the “acute stage” of the infection.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published one survey last year. It found that nearly two-thirds (55.5%) of Americans who had tested positive for the virus reported some form of cognitive dysfunction, such as memory loss or difficulty concentrating.
The RECOVER initiative was funded by the COVID-19 relief legislation passed by Congress in 2020. Officials hope that the federal effort will lead to new insights into the causes and consequences of COVID-19 long-term symptoms.
“The question is: Are you looking at changes in connections that are connected to the loss of smell?” This will be one thing. Are you referring to viral-induced injury? This will be different. This study asks the question, ” said Dr. Walter Koroshetz of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
RECOVER also includes autopsy research that examines brains of patients who have suffered from COVID for a long time after they die due to other causes, such as cancer or heart attack.
An MRI simply images water. It doesn’t show you the connections or cell level. Koroshetz said that you can study brain tissue by using advanced techniques and looking under the microscope.
Koroshetz suggested that long-term problems could be due to virus parts still lingering in your body or immune reactions first triggered when the infection is causing harm. Scientists will need to identify the cause of the symptoms in order to develop new treatments. This is not just a matter of testing medication to relieve symptoms.
“Hopefully, once we have a better understanding of biology, we will be able to do trials to try and normalize the body, get rid virus, treat autoimmune reactions, reset the immune system.” Koroshetz said that they expect to see progress within the next year.
