Today’s new research shows that they will bring us closer to understanding how covid-19 can cause brain damage. The study suggests that although the viral infection may not reach the brain directly in most cases, it may trigger the type of destructive inflammation seen in other neurological conditions, such as stroke.
The research was conducted by US government scientists at the National Institutes of Health and is published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The team studied the brains of 19 people who died after contracting covid-19, using highly sensitive MRI scans, as well as examining brain tissue under a microscope. These patients ranged in age from 5 to 73, some with existing health problems, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The researchers could not find traces of the virus in these samples, indicating that it did not infect the brain. But they found blood vessels clogged, thin and leaked. Next to some of these vessels, they also found signs of inflammation, such as higher levels of immune cells in the brain called microglia. In conclusion, the findings indicate that these patients and others like them develop a defective immune response that attacks the blood vessels of the brain – a response caused by coronavirus infection.
“It simply came to our notice then. Initially, we expected to see damage caused by lack of oxygen. Instead, we saw multifocal areas of damage that are usually associated with stroke and neuroinflammatory disease, “said study lead author Avindra Nath, clinical director at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, in a statement. freed by the NIH.
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Some studies have found evidence that the virus can directly invade the brain and parts of the body connected to the brain, especially the olfactory bulb that helps us process the smell. Infection of these areas could further explain some of the symptoms seen with covid-19, such as odor loss, at least in some cases. But the new results add to substantial evidence that inflammation is a key factor in explaining how covid-19 can harm the body, including the brain. Other research has found that covid-19 may increase the risk or worsen inflammation-related health conditions, such as hits and heart damage.
“While it’s very possible you missed any brain infection with the virus, we think it’s unlikely because we used several techniques to detect the virus,” Nath told Gizmodo in an email. These other works found a very small number of copies of the virus in the brain, so it is unlikely to be the main mechanism of the pathology.
Although all patients in this study died, the findings may also help explain why some survivors continue to have persistent complications even after the infection has cleared. Often, these complications appear to be neurological and include difficulty focusing, memory problems, and other symptoms known as brain fog.
“Even though the patients died suddenly, they did not die from an apparent neurological disease,” Nath explained. The people included in this research may not be valuable, so “the findings here may be relevant to long-term survivors as well.”