“ The clinical characteristics of our participant cohorts , and the elevation in brain injury markers , provide evidence of both acute and ongoing neurological injury .”
Issue 33.2
Long COVID Seems to Be a Brain Injury
Some form of brain injury could be behind the symptoms reported by those with long COVID , according to a new study , and adapting tests and treatments to match could aid progress in tackling the condition .
Analyzing 203 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 or its associated symptoms , and comparing the results with 60 people without the infection , researchers noticed elevated levels of four brain injury biomarkers – key signs of biological change – in those infected with COVID-19 .
What ’ s more , two of those signs of brain injury persisted into the recovery phase , suggesting that they continue even after the COVID-19 infection has gone . Levels of these two biomarkers were even higher for people who also experienced neurological complications with COVID-19 .
“ Our study shows that markers of brain injury are present in the blood months after COVID- 19 , and particularly in those who have had a COVID-19-induced brain complication ,” says neuroscientist Benedict Michael from the University of Liverpool in the UK .
“ This suggests the possibility of ongoing inflammation and injury inside the brain itself which may not be detected by blood tests for inflammation .”
These brain complications associated with COVID-19 have ranged from mild ( headaches ) to potentially life-threatening ( seizures , stroke , and encephalitis ). As previous research has shown , the consequences can be long-lasting .
Michael and team think that abnormal responses by the body ’ s immune system could be causing the signs of injury they ’ re seeing . If we can find out more about these responses and how they ’ re triggered , new treatments could be developed .
It ’ s now clear that COVID-19 plays some role in impacting the nervous system , and in some cases this impact can continue for an extended period . This new study shows that the effects can be similar to brain injuries .
“ The clinical characteristics of our participant cohorts , and the elevation in brain injury markers , provide evidence of both acute and ongoing neurological injury ,” write the researchers in their published paper .
The researchers are already hard at work following up on their study , looking at how the damage caused by COVID-19 and the associated inflammation might lead to cognitive problems and mental health issues further down the line .
It ’ s thought that tens of millions of people are now living with long COVID in some form , and yet it ’ s still not a condition that we know all that much about . Studies continue to try to spot patterns in its prevalence , which should eventually provide more clues as to how to combat it .
“ This work may help set the stage for elucidating the possible underlying mechanisms of these complications ,” says immunologist Leonie Taams , from King ’ s College London in the UK .
The research has been published in Nature Communications . g
“ The clinical characteristics of our participant cohorts , and the elevation in brain injury markers , provide evidence of both acute and ongoing neurological injury .”
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