COVID-19 could lead to brain damage

NEW YORK: People with COVID-19 who developed new-onset neurological issues after hospitalisation were studied by researchers at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine to see if higher blood markers indicated brain impairment.

A SARS-CoV-2 infection may induce COVID-19, an illness that causes mild upper respiratory symptoms. On the other hand, some people may get sick to the point of needing to be hospitalised. Pneumonia and lung damage could lead to respiratory failure, which could prove fatal.

Patients with COVID-19 are frequently hospitalised with neurological problems as well. Encephalopathy, seizures, strokes and encephalitis are all examples of neurological illnesses. Guillain-Barré syndrome and acute demyelinating encephalomyelitis are also some occurrences owing to neurological issues.

Dr Thomas Wisniewski, M.D., a co-author of the study, professor of neurology, pathology, and psychiatry, and director of the NYU Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and the Center for Cognitive Neurology, articulated the study.

He went in-depth about what he was saying. SARS-CoV-2 tends to cause vascular damage, targeting endothelial cells and disrupting the blood-brain barrier and triggering general neuroinflammation. Cytokines that promote neurodegeneration and Alzheimer's disease, such as interleukin six and interleukin 1, are found in high concentrations in those with COVID-19. A cytokine is a protein that facilitates cell-to-cell communication in the body.

According to Dr Wisniewski, they were curious to look at these biomarkers in their study since they are what they use in their Alzheimer's disease research facility to monitor the evolution of Alzheimer's-related pathology and other neurodegenerative diseases. 

The research titled "Comparison of serum neurodegenerative biomarkers among hospitalized COVID-19 patients versus non-COVID subjects with normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, or Alzheimer's dementia" has been published in the Journal of the Alzheimer’s and Dementia