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Corona patients often suffer from “brain fog”. Researchers have now found an explanation for this phenomenon and are calling it a milestone.
Dublin – One of the long-term consequences after an infection with the corona virus is the so-called “brain fog”. The symptom has a massive impact on the everyday life of those affected. Abilities such as planning, remembering or concentrating can be severely impaired. Researchers have now identified a possible cause for this phenomenon.
Disturbed blood-brain barrier is the cause of “brain fog” after corona infection
A research group from Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) has been researching the causes of post-Covid since March 2020 in collaboration with St. James Hospital Dublin. To do this, they used blood samples from 76 affected people. Now the scientists are publishing new ones Results in the journal Nature Neuroscience. The team found elevated levels of a certain protein in the blood, which indicate a disrupted blood-brain barrier. This barrier is the border between the blood and the central nervous system and prevents certain substances from passing through the brain – thereby protecting it from disease.
In Long Covid patients, the corona infection causes a disruption in the blood supply system in the brain. It causes the blood vessels to become more permeable, meaning the brain is less effectively protected from pathogens, toxins and other substances in the blood.
MRI shows how unwanted substances pass through the brain and cause “brain fog”.
To clarify their results, the researchers also examined this disorder using imaging techniques. It became visible with a special type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): The images show that in people with “brain fog,” more contrast agent gets into the brain tissue outside the blood capillaries. These agents are used to make diseases more visible using imaging techniques.
Matthew Campbell, the study’s leader, explained in the journal: “For the first time, we have shown that leaky blood vessels in the human brain, along with a hyperactive immune system, may be the main cause of brain fog associated with Long Covid .“ A recent one British study complemented these findings and showed that many patients have brain damage.
Common symptoms of brain fog
- Slowed information processing
- Word finding and language disorders
- Impaired short-term memory
- Limited ability to concentrate
Source: German Society for ME/CFS
More studies on the blood-brain barrier for post-viral neurological diseases
Trinity College researchers said in a statement: “The findings are now likely to change the way we understand and treat post-viral neurological diseases.†In recent years it has been noted that many neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, are likely to involve a viral infection Trigger is. The role of the blood-brain barrier in this context is currently being examined in more detail by the study authors.
The Robert Koch Institute reported with reference to August 2023that there is still no reliable data on the frequency of Long Covid. There is a lack of representative, controlled studies with sufficient follow-up time that enable a comparison of people with and without a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the cohort studies available so far, the frequency of Long Covid is estimated at around six to 15 percent. (jh with dpa)
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