Brain's Frontal Lobes Electrical Activity Disrupted by COVID-19
While research suggests that neurological symptoms, such as headaches, confusion, and seizures, are common among patients with severe COVID-19, the connection between the virus and brain abnormalities remains unclear.
A review of 617 patients' EEG results found slowing of brain waves and abnormal electrical discharges, with around a third of the abnormalities happening in the frontal lobes of the brain. Doctors may order an EEG test for patients experiencing neurological symptoms. However, it's uncertain whether these EEG abnormalities are directly caused by the virus or by systemic effects of the infection, such as inflammation, low oxygen levels, or cardiac arrest.
According to researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh, the virus may not be responsible for all the damage. They suggest that a wider range of patients should undergo EEG tests, as well as other types of brain imaging like MRI or CT scans, to get a closer look at the frontal lobe.
Some individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 report ongoing health issues labeled as "long COVID." One of these issues is "brain fog." A recent study found that those claiming to have had COVID performed less well on a cognitive test compared to those who did not believe they contracted the virus. While this study does not prove that the infection causes long-term cognitive decline, it does raise concerns about the virus's lasting effects on the brain.
Dr. Zulfi Haneef, a co-author of the study, highlights that these findings indicate there might be long-term issues for some COVID-19 patients, further supporting the idea of long-term impacts on the brain. On the positive side, the study showed that 56.8% of patients who had follow-up EEG tests showed improvements.
- The connection between the coronavirus and epilepsy seizures, especially in severe COVID-19 cases, remains unexplored, despite neurological symptoms being common.
- Electroencephalography (EEG) tests can reveal slowing of brain waves and abnormal electrical discharges, commonly occurring in the frontal lobes of COVID-19 patients experiencing neurological symptoms.
- It's uncertain whether these EEG abnormalities are directly caused by the coronavirus or by systemic effects of the infection, such as inflammation, low oxygen levels, or cardiac arrest.
- Researchers propose that a wider range of COVID-19 patients should undergo EEG tests, as well as other brain imaging like MRI or CT scans, to better understand potential brain abnormalities.
- Some individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 report ongoing mental health issues, including "brain fog," and a recent study found that those claiming to have had COVID-19 performed less well on a cognitive test compared to those who did not believe they contracted the virus.
- The study suggests that there might be long-term neurological issues for some COVID-19 patients, supporting the idea of long-term impacts on the brain, while also indicating that improvements can be observed in 56.8% of patients undergoing follow-up EEG tests.
