Neurological

Neurological post Covid conditions will take longer to manifest in large numbers, but there are already countless studies showing brain damage and doctors and scientists within this field of expertise are warning that Covid is likely to be capable of triggering early onset dementia, Parkinsons and general cognitive decline.

One of the dominant symptoms of Long Covid is ‘brain fog’, a patient coined term that doesn’t really convey the seriousness of the underlying damage.

The loss of smell experienced by many is a result of damage to the olfactory centre in the brain, aka brain damage. This is the canary in the coalmine for neurologists who understand what it means that the virus is capable of directly affecting the brain.

Since the start of 2024 there has been a flood of published studies showing what is happening in the brain. They all paint a similar picture. The picture is incredibly worrying.

Resources:

February 2024 - Blood–brain barrier disruption and sustained systemic inflammation in individuals with long COVID-associated cognitive impairment

February 2024 - The long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of toddlers with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the neonatal period: a prospective observational study

February 2024 - Neuroimaging findings in children with COVID-19 infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis

February 2024 - Prospective Memory Assessment before and after Covid-19

February 2024 - Temporal Association between COVID-19 Infection and Subsequent New-Onset Dementia in Older Adults

February 2024 - Cognition and Memory after Covid-19 in a Large Community Sample

June 2023 - The impact of SARS-COV-2 on language and cognition. Explanation of longer term neurological risks from infection

March 2022 - EXPERT REACTION: “Significant” brain changes documented after mild COVID-19

Oct 2023 - Serotonin levels are depleted in long Covid patients, study says, pointing to a potential cause for ‘brain fog’