Experts Warn Coronavirus May Cause 'Wave' of Neurological Conditions Including Parkinson's Disease
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COVID-19 can cause worrying neurological symptoms like a loss of smell and taste, but Australian scientists are warning the damage the virus causes to the brain may also lead to more serious conditions such as Parkinson's disease.
[...] It has happened before.
Five years after the Spanish flu pandemic in the early 1900s, there was up to a three-fold increase in the incidence of Parkinson's disease.
Kevin Barnham from the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health said he believed a similar "silent wave" of neurological illness would follow this pandemic.
"Parkinson's disease is a complex illness, but one of the causes is inflammation, and the virus helps to drive that inflammation," he said.
"Once the inflammation gets into the brain, it starts a cascade of events which can ultimately lead to Parkinson's disease.
Researchers outlined their concerns in a study published today in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease.
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