New evidence shows that COVID-19 can have long-term, adverse impacts on brain health — even after mild illness. Clinicians should take note, experts say.
Long COVID includes neurological issues caused by inflammation, which can damage the central nervous system after the acute stage of the virus is past. In new studies presented at the Neuroscience 2022 meeting this week, scientists found that nearly one-fourth of adults with mild COVID-19 still had deficits when coordinating fine motor skills with spatial abilities four months later.
Using fMRI imaging, another research team found that the sensorimotor brain regions of children who had recovered from COVID-19 months ago required more resources to function. A study in mice also found long-lasting neurological deficits.
Millions impacted
Although other infections can cause similar problems, the findings are most notable when considering the number of people who have been infected by COVID-19, said Robyn Klein, PhD, of the Washington University School of Medicine, and a conference moderator.
“This isn’t the first time that a flu-like viral infection has been linked to an increased risk for dementia,” she said in a statement. “But one of the most important aspects of this work is the magnitude of people potentially affected by this — millions upon millions.”
Clinicians take note
Although SARS-COV-2 may not directly invade the brain, it can still result in long-term changes to brain function through inflammation, the studies show. With the evidence building, it is time to more formally recognize the neurological impact of long-COVID, Klein added.
“We need to move on to alternative hypotheses for these neurologic diseases; we also need to inform the public and physicians that this is a real illness and that they should be proactive in addressing it,” she concluded.
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