COVID-19 could have an impact on the brain, San Antonio researchers discover

SAN ANTONIO – The coronavirus pandemic has affected the planet for almost a year, and now researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio are studying how COVID-19 impacts the brain.

Dementia researchers at UT Health contributed to the report, including lead author Gabriel A. de Erausquin, who said “Since the influenza pandemic of 1917 and 1918, many of the flulike diseases have been associated with brain disorders.” .

According to De Erausquin, “those respiratory viruses included H1N1 and SARS-CoV. The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, is also known to have an impact on the brain and nervous system. “

Funding for this new research is provided by the Alzheimer’s Association, which helps gather data from more than 30 countries “to understand how COVID-19 increases the risk, severity, rate and progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and psychiatric diseases, including depression. . “, Said a statement to UT Health.

Researchers have already discovered that coronavirus penetrates cellular receptors called ACE2, the highest concentration of which can be found in the olfactory bulb of the brain, which is linked to people’s sense of smell.

“Olfactory cells are very susceptible to viral invasion and are particularly targeted by SARS-CoV-2 and therefore one of the prominent symptoms of COVID-19 is odor loss,” said Sudha Seshadri, another researcher at UT Health.

The olfactory bulb connects to the hippocampus of the brain, which is primarily responsible for short-term memory.

“The trace of the virus, when it invades the brain, leads almost directly to the hippocampus,” said De Erausquin. “It is believed that this is one of the sources of cognitive impairment observed in patients with COVID-19. We suspect that it could also be part of the reason why there will be an accelerated cognitive decline over time in susceptible individuals. “

The researchers also found that SARS-CoV-2 can be found in the brain after patients have died and that abnormal brain imaging, sometimes characterized by damage to different areas of the brain, “appeared to be a major feature of COVID- 19 from all over the world. “

UT Health officials said researchers will continue to collect information for the next 2-3 years and expect initial results in early 2022. The World Health Organization is also helping to guide the study.

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