TASS, November 5. Doctors from the United States have found that about 24% of people who have suffered the most severe forms of coronavirus infection develop seizures delirium – clouding of consciousness and fever delirium – and mental disturbances. In some patients, such symptoms continued several months after recovery, the scientists write in an article published by the electronic scientific library medRxiv.
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“Among patients with coronavirus infection who were admitted to intensive care, delirium is one of the most common symptoms. Our observations show that about 24% of them develop it after recovery. And in some cases, delirium appeared even two months after discharge from hospitals, “the researchers write.
Due to the fact that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus enters the body, a person may lose their sense of smell or begin to recognize the taste of food worse. The first observations of patients in Europe showed that almost all patients with COVID-19 experienced similar problems.
Scientists have recently discovered the possible cause of this phenomenon. They found that the virus uses olfactory receptors in the human nasal mucosa as a kind of “gateway” to enter the brain and spread through the nervous system. Recently, British scientists found out that due to COVID-19 in those who have recovered mental abilities may decrease… This is especially true for their ability to recognize the meaning of words and sentences.
Coronavirus fever
American doctors led by Associate Professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (USA) Philip Vlisides found out that COVID-19 may have another long-term effect that affects the functioning of the brain. During their research, they monitored the health of 150 patients with very severe forms of coronavirus infection.
Scientists noticed that the vast majority of these patients, about 70%, while in intensive care, suffered several attacks of delirium – a mental disorder in which patients become dull, attention, perception and thinking deteriorate. The doctors were unable to improve or stabilize the condition of a third of them until they recovered. In many patients, doctors recorded not only delirium, but also violations of mental acuity and memory.
Further observations showed that many of these symptoms persisted even after the virus disappeared from the patient’s body. About 23% of them suffered from dementia and other serious mental impairments, and 24% experienced recurrent delirium attacks.
Scientists suggest that these problems have appeared due to the fact that coronavirus infection disrupts the functioning of the brain vessels. As a result, there are serious disruptions in his work, including dementia and delirium. Further study of this phenomenon, Vlisides and his colleagues hope, will help to understand how to protect the brains of the most vulnerable populations from such long-term consequences of coronavirus infection.
It should be added that the scientists’ article was not reviewed by independent experts or reviewed by the editors of scientific journals, as is usually the case in such cases. Therefore, conclusions from it and similar articles should be treated with caution.
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