That this SARS-CoV-2-Virus Not only attacks the respiratory tract and organs, kidneys, blood vessels and the intestine, is now known. British researcher at the University College London and the University of Liverpool participated in various studies COVID-19-Patients now found numerous other injuries. And not only in cases with severe courses and old people with previous illnesses. Young people and those with mild courses can also suffer serious damage. Neurological damage. These include delirium, inflammation of the brain, stroke and inflammatory nerve damage.
Some of these neurological complications occur at the onset of the disease, others only weeks later. Overall, these consequences are rare, the scientists emphasize, but there are thousands of people affected due to the high number of cases. Alone in the UK. The team of researchers identified a normally rare and sometimes fatal inflammatory disease, ADEM, the frequency of which is due to the pandemic apparently increases. On the other hand, some of the patients had no respiratory symptoms. For them, the neurological disorder was the first and most important indication of COVID-19.
Epidemic of brain damage?
“We identified a higher-than-expected number of people with neurological disorders, such as brain infections, that did not always correlate with the severity of respiratory symptoms,” said the study’s senior author, Dr. Michael Zandi from UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. “We should be vigilant and watch out for these complications in people who have had COVID-19. It remains to be seen whether there will be a major epidemic of brain damage related to the pandemic – perhaps similar to the outbreak of lethargic encephalitis in the 1920s and 1930s after the 1918 flu pandemic. ”
In total, the researchers from the two universities examined more than 900 cases of Covid-19 patients aged 16 to 85 years, some of whom had developed transient encephalopathy and suffered from delirium. Others had encephalitis (brain inflammation), others had a stroke due to the excessive thick blood in COVID-19 patients. In addition, the scientists also observe inflammation and signs of failure of peripheral nerves or the spinal cord. Also seizures, other symptoms of disturbed nerve function and other nerve damage such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, temporary paralysis due to inflammatory nerve changes.
The team at University College London examined 43 patients in their study. They diagnosed acute, disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) in nine out of twelve people with brain inflammation. Not only is this disease rare, it generally occurs almost exclusively in children and can be caused by viral infections. They would normally have around one adult ADEM patient per month, the researchers say. During the period of their study, however, this number had increased to at least one per week. “This is a worrying increase.”
Virus not detected in brain fluid
Since the SARS-CoV-2 virus could not be detected in the brain fluid in any of the patients tested, the scientists assume that the virus does not attack the brain directly. This suggests that some of the neurological complications of Covid-19 may be due less to the virus itself than to the body’s immune response. To find out whether these neurological complications are from Coronavirus itself or indirectly through the attacked immune system further investigations are required.
“Given that the disease has only been around for a few months, we may not yet know what long-term damage COVID-19 can cause,” explains Dr. Ross Paterson of the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, one of the study’s lead authors, said in the journal Brain has been published. “Doctors need to be aware of the potential neurological effects because early diagnosis can improve patient outcomes. People recovering from the virus should seek professional advice on neurological symptoms. ”
The researchers were supported by the National Institute for Health Research, the UCLH Biomedical Research Centre, the Medical Research Council, of the Alzheimer’s Association and the UK Dementia Research Institute.
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