Journal Article Reviews Century of Data Showing COVID-19 Likely to Impact the Brain
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Dementia researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) are the first and senior authors of the report and are joined by coauthors from the Alzheimer's Association and Nottingham and Leicester universities in England.
"Since the flu pandemic of 1917 and 1918, many of the flulike diseases have been associated with brain disorders," said lead author Gabriel A. de Erausquin, MD, PhD, Msc, professor of neurology in the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio. "Those respiratory viruses included H1N1 and SARS-CoV. The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, is also known to impact the brain and nervous system."
Dr. de Erausquin, an investigator with the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio, said [...] that the damage done by the pandemic will not be limited to acute effects, such as delirium in the hospital, but will have chronic consequences that impact many individuals' quality of life and independence.
The question is to what degree and under what form. Even mild COVID-19 infections may have negative effects on the brain long term, Dr. de Erausquin said.
[...] The study will collect information over the next two to three years. Initial results are expected in early 2022 for the first set of evaluations. The consortium is aided by technical guidance from the World Health Organization.
Journal Reference:
Gabriel A. de Erausquin, Heather Snyder, Maria Carrillo, et al. The chronic neuropsychiatric sequelae of COVID19: The need for a prospective study of viral impact on brain functioning [open], Alzheimer's & Dementia (DOI: 10.1002/alz.12255)
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