Covid-19 virus does not infect human brain cells, study suggests

Exclusive: study raises hopes that Covid-related damage to sense of smell may be more superficial than previously feared

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The virus that causes Covid-19 does not infect human brain cells, according to a study published in the journal Cell. The findings will raise hopes that the damage caused by Sars-CoV-2 might be more superficial and reversible than previously feared.

The study contradicts earlier research that suggested the virus infects neurons in the membrane that lines the upper recesses of the nose.