A vaccine against Covid-19 is being prepared for administration in the US, where a new study has helped give some answers about the brain fog associated with the virus.
A small new study released Tuesday by scientists at the U.S. National Institutes of Health suggests that the immune response to coronavirus infections damages the blood vessels in the brain and could be responsible for Covid’s long-term symptoms.
The article, published in Brain magazine, was based on brain autopsies of nine people who died suddenly after contracting the virus.
This finding could explain why some people have persistent effects of infection, such as headaches, fatigue, loss of taste and smell, and inability to sleep, as well as “brain fog,” and may also help to conceive. new treatments for Covid.
“We had previously shown damage to blood vessels and inflammation in the brains of patients at autopsy, but we did not understand the cause of the damage. I think in this article we have gained an important insight into the cascade of events.”
Their brains were compared to those of 10 controls, and the team examined neuroinflammation and immune responses using a technique called immunohistochemistry.
Damage to these cells can lead to protein leakage, bleeding, and clots, which increases the risk of stroke.
The team found that normal cellular processes in the areas to which it directed the attack were severely altered, which had implications for things like its ability to detoxify and regulate metabolism.
“It is very possible that this same immune response persists in long-term patients with COVID-19, causing neuronal injury,” Nath said.
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