With so many people afflicted — 80 percent of people hospitalized with COVID-19 who were polled in one study1 had neurological symptoms — researchers are hoping that the growing database will guide the way to new therapies.
SARS-CoV-2 can have serious consequences: a recent preprint2 compared scans of people’s brains before and after being infected with COVID-19 and discovered a loss of grey matter in various locations of the cerebral cortex. However, studies have shown that the virus has a hard time getting past the brain’s protection system, the blood-brain barrier and that it doesn’t always assault neurons in a major way.
What scientists know and don’t know about COVID’s impact on smell and flavor
SARS-CoV-2 may be obtaining access to the brain via passing through the olfactory mucosa, the nose canal lining that borders the brain, according to experts. COVID-19 is commonly detected in the nasal cavity, so healthcare providers typically test for it by swabbing the nose.
However, it may infect brain cells. According to new research, SARS-CoV-2 can infect astrocytes, brain cell that serves various functions. ”
Keep reading this guide to know the impacts of covid on the brain.
Top Impacts Of Covid On The Brain
Severe Infection
The virus may have the ability to penetrate the brain and produce a severe and rapid infection in the first case. The virus’s genetic material was detected in spinal fluid in cases reported in China and Japan, and viral particles were found in brain cells in a case reported in Florida.
It could happen due to the virus infecting the bloodstream or nerve terminals. Some COVID-19 patients have lost their sense of smell, suggesting that the virus may have entered through the olfactory bulb directly above the nose and transmits smell information to the brain.
Overworked Immune System
Another view is that in an attempt to fight COVID-19, the immune system goes into overdrive, resulting in a “maladaptive” inflammatory response that causes much of the tissue and organ damage seen in this disease – possibly more than the virus itself.
Disorganization of the Human Body
The third explanation is that all of COVID-19’s physiological abnormalities, such as high fevers, low oxygen levels, and numerous organ failures, cause or contribute to brain dysfunction, such as delirium or coma, which is seen in many severe cases.
Abnormalities In Blood Clotting
The fourth method, COVID-19, may damage the brain is through the increased risk of brain hemorrhage in these people. People with the condition have a severely aberrant blood-clotting mechanism, and clots are considerably more likely to occur in these patients than in others.
Conclusion
COVID infection frequently results in brain damage, especially in persons over the age of 70, according to these researchers. While some brain damage is visible and significant cognitive impairment, the damage is minor.
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