New Study Shows Link , Between COVID , and Brain Damage.
According to a new British study, even mild cases of COVID-19
are associated with subtle tissue damage and increased
losses in brain regions tied to the sense of smell. .
NBC reports the study also found
evidence of a small loss in the brain's overall
volume and a deficit in cognitive function. .
The study, conducted by the University
of Oxford, is the first investigation
into COVID's impact on the brain. .
Researchers looked at brain scans from before and after participants contracted the coronavirus. .
The paper's lead author, Gwenaëlle Douaud,
says that the loss of brain volume was
equivalent to one extra year of regular aging. .
It is brain damage, but it is possible
that it is reversible. But it is still
relatively scary because it was
in mildly infected people, Gwenaëlle Douaud, associate professor at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Oxford, via NBC.
When compared to a control group, participants who had COVID-19 showed an additional 0.2% to 2% loss of brain tissue in specific regions of the brain. .
Those regions are associated with the sense of smell, including the parahippocampal gyrus, the orbitofrontal cortex and the insula.
NBC reports that the study found participants demonstrated a slower ability to process information and manage complex tasks. .
Dr. Avindra Nath, clinical director of the National Institute
of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National
Institutes of Health, said that these findings , “have long-term implications"...
... since we would be concerned about the
possibility of similar cognitive dysfunction
in a large population worldwide. It needs
to be determined if these patients could
further deteriorate over a period of time, Dr. Avindra Nath, clinical director of the National Institute
of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
at the National Institutes of Health, via NBC
