Mounting research shows that COVID-19 leaves its mark on the brain, including with significant drops in IQ scores
Mounting research shows that COVID-19 leaves its mark on the brain, including with significant drops in IQ scores
Two new high-profile studies add to the increasingly worrisome picture of how even mild cases of COVID-19 can have detrimental effects on brain health.
From the article:
"....two new studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine shed further light on the profound toll of COVID-19 on cognitive health." And in other studies cases "with mild to moderate COVID-19 showed significant prolonged inflammation of the brain and changes that are commensurate with seven years of brain aging."
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Autopsy studies of people who had severe COVID-19 but died months later from other causes showed that the virus was still present in brain tissue. This provides evidence that contrary to its name, SARS-CoV-2 is not only a respiratory virus, but it can also enter the brain in some individuals. But whether the persistence of the virus in brain tissue is driving some of the brain problems seen in people who have had COVID-19 is not yet clear.
Um, scary TIL...
I wonder if this compounds in any way for people who've been infected multiple times.
From the article: " Reinfection with the virus contributed an additional two-point loss in IQ, as compared with no reinfection." So yes, there can be a compounding. It's research like this that makes me want to keep my 'mask, handwash, neti washing, indoor air filtration, avoid crowds indoors, etc' policy in place. Sigh.
Thank you, I must've missed that part 😅
I agree with you there.
I think a lot of people who don't care about the virus are the ones who should be the most concerned about these findings
I would have to agree. Alas, it's entirely possible that their loss of cognitive function, decreased I.Q., is preventing them from this sort of understanding.
they also started a good shuffle on over to the left of the mean
I wonder if this compounds in any way for people who've been infected multiple times.
Yes it does. Every time someone gets infected, it does more damage. And a lot of that damage is essentially permanent. eg. damage to blood vessels, heart tissue etc.
I know some people in my extended family that are up to their 6th or 7th time getting covid now. My anecdotal data suggests yes. It's hard to be sure, of course. There are so many reasons why they could seem even dumber now. But I like to hope it's mostly the physical damage done to their brains.
Not a doctor so may be a stupid question, but wouldn't the blood brain barrier protection stuff degrade or shut down when you die? Could it have leaked in after death?
My understanding is it can happen while alive.
Here is an article explaining it: https://asm.org/Articles/2020/April/How-Pathogens-Penetrate-the-Blood-Brain-Barrier
One of the studies cited in the article found that COVID-19 damages (or can damage) the blood-brain barrier.
- COVID-19 can also disrupt the blood brain barrier, the shield that protects the nervous system – which is the control and command center of our bodies – making it “leaky.” Studies using imaging to assess the brains of people hospitalized with COVID-19 showed disrupted or leaky blood brain barriers in those who experienced brain fog.
Considering the number of people who end up with "brain fog" this seems a likely way for it to enter the brain.