Increased risk for younger people
The result was clear: people who tested positive for corona had a two to three times higher risk of suffering a cerebral infarction (ischemic stroke). This particularly affected younger people.
–
What is an ischemic stroke?
An ischemic stroke is the most common form of stroke, affecting around 80 to 85 percent of those affected. The cause is usually blood clots (thrombi), which can form in different parts of the body. If they get into the brain via the bloodstream, they can cause vascular occlusion there. As a result, the nerve cells supplied by the affected blood vessel die.
—
The people who tested positive for Corona also had a 3.5-fold increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, a 2.6-fold increased risk of Parkinson’s and a 4.8-fold increased risk of an intracerebral hemorrhage (bleeding in the brain) .
–
dr Pardis Zarifkar, lead author of the study and a researcher at the Department of Neurology at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, said: “More than two years after the outbreak of the corona pandemic, the exact nature and evolution of the impact of Covid-19 on neurological diseases is still unclear .”
–
Influenza also makes neurological disease more likely
However, the Danish study shows something else: the risk for most neurological diseases was no higher in Covid-19-positive patients than in people who had been diagnosed with influenza or another respiratory disease – with one caveat:
–
Corona patients had a 1.7-fold increased risk of ischemic stroke compared to patients with influenza and bacterial pneumonia who were over 80 years old.
–
The incidence of other neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, Guillain-Barré syndrome and narcolepsy did not increase after Covid-19, influenza or pneumonia.
–
“These results will help advance our understanding of the long-term effects of COVID-19 on the body and the role that infections play in neurodegenerative diseases and stroke,” said study author Pardis Zarifkar.
–
Now it would have to be determined which processes in the body are responsible after an infection. “Is this related to direct viral invasion? Is it due to the inflammatory processes that occur in the body in response to the virus?” Zarifkar said. However, it should also be noted that patients would be examined more closely after a Covid 19 infection.
—
