Strange symptoms of coronavirus have been observed since the start of the pandemic, including cerebral complications such as a stroke or psychiatric disorders.
Recent studies have explained that COVID-19 causes blood to clot all over the body, which can lead to stroke, heart attack, and lung problems.
Researchers in the United Kingdom observed a higher number of patients in April. They found an increasing number of strokes, as well as psychoses and mood disorders suspected of being secondary to the primary disease.
Doctors started to notice all kinds of unusual symptoms of COVID-19 months ago when new outbreaks of coronavirus started to hit European countries and the United States. Some of them were very unusual, as the disease manifested itself as a neurological condition, similar to strokes. Some patients appeared to be in an advanced state of confusion and came to the hospital to treat what appeared to be a brain problem. Other hospitals have reported an increase in the incidence of stroke in younger patients during the epidemic compared to regular periods. Likewise, cardiologists have noticed heart attack-like problems in patients with COVID-19 that were apparently caused by the disease. Shortly thereafter, further studies revealed that the virus causes blood to clot, which can lead to complications and even death. Anticoagulants could save patients’ lives by preventing strokes, heart attacks, and lung clotting, according to these studies.
Fast forward to the end of June, and a new British study reveals that brain complications may be more common than we thought. People infected with COVID-19 have not been diagnosed only with stroke, but with psychological problems secondary to infection.
Published in Lancet Psychiatry, the study appears to be the most important research on the subject so far.
“There have been increasing reports of an association between Covid-19 infection and possible neurological or psychiatric complications, but so far these have generally been limited to studies in 10 or more patients. less, “said Benedict Michael of the University of Liverpool to The Guardian. “Ours is the first national study of the neurological complications associated with Covid-19, but it is important to note that it focuses on cases severe enough to require hospitalization.”
Doctors followed up 125 cases of COVID-19 in April, with specialists observing the neurological and psychiatric complications that may have resulted from the initial infection.
The most common complication was a stroke, reported in 77 patients. Not all features were the same. Blood clots in the brain (ischemic stroke) occurred in 57 patients. Nine of them had a hemorrhagic stroke. One patient had a stroke caused by inflammation of the blood vessels in the brain. Thirteen of 74 stroke patients were under the age of 60 and 61 were older.
With regard to psychiatric disorders, 39 patients developed signs of confusion or changes in behavior. Seven people developed encephalitis or inflammation of the brain. Psychosis, dementia-like neurocognitive syndrome and mood disorders were diagnosed in 23 patients. The researchers believe that the psychiatric diagnoses were all new, but they cannot guarantee that some of the patients were not diagnosed before hospitalization with COVID-19. Eighteen of the 37 patients who showed altered mental status were under the age of 60 and 19 were older.
“This report describes often striking cases of neurological and psychiatric illnesses as being sometimes associated with severe COVID-19 in hospital patients,” Michael Sharpe, professor of psychological medicine at the University of Oxford. “It reminds us that Covid-19 is more than a respiratory infection and that we need to consider its connection to a variety of other diseases. “
He warned that more research was needed to rule out the possibility that brain-related medical conditions did not occur independently of COVID-19.
Chris Smith started writing about gadgets as a hobby, and before he knew it, he shared his perspective on technology with readers around the world. Whenever he doesn’t write on gadgets, he miserably fails to stay away from them, although he tries desperately. But it is not necessarily a bad thing.
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