The researchers examined different areas of the brain of 21 people who died in hospital due to a severe corona infection. They were compared with nine patients who died of other diseases after intensive care treatment. In some cases, the genetic material of the coronavirus has been detected in the brain.
“However, we did not find any SARS-CoV-2-infected nerve cells,” explained a study leader. The scientists assumed that immune cells had absorbed the virus in the body and then migrated to the brain. “They still carry the virus, but it doesn’t infect brain cells.”
The team also found a possible explanation for Long Covid. In the vast majority of cases, the nerve cells only reacted temporarily to the inflammation, but not in all of them. “We think it is possible that chronic inflammation in some people could be responsible for the neurological symptoms often observed in Long Covid,” said another study leader. This will now be examined in more detail.
This message was sent on February 16, 2024 on the Deutschlandfunk program.