COVID-19 and the Brain: A Neurological Perspective
COVID-19 Alters Electrical Functions in Frontal Lobes of the Brain
COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the global population, but its impact isn't just limited to the lungs. A whopping 15-25% of patients with severe COVID-19 may experience neurological symptoms, according to researchers. These symptoms can range from headaches and confusion to delirium, seizures, and strokes.
When patients start exhibiting such symptoms, doctors may suggest an electroencephalography (EEG) test. In this procedure, electrodes are placed on the scalp to monitor the electrical activity of the brain, offering insights into potential brain abnormalities.
Researchers, led by Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh, analyzed EEG data from 617 patients, pooled from 84 different studies. Interestingly, around a third of the abnormal findings were lurking in the frontal lobes of the brain, the region directly adjacent to the nose, leading researchers to speculate that this could be the virus's likely point of entry.
Two-thirds of the patients were male with a median age of 61.3 years. Common findings included slowing of brain waves and abnormal electrical discharges, with the extent of these abnormalities positively correlating with the severity of the disease and the presence of preexisting neurological conditions such as epilepsy.
It's essential to note that the virus might not be the sole culprit for all the damage witnessed on the EEG. Systemic effects of the infection, like inflammation, low oxygen levels, sticky blood, and cardiac arrest, might contribute to EEG abnormalities beyond the frontal lobes.
The virus might not just be causing immediate damage but could potentially lead to long-term issues, too. The studies suggest that COVID-19 could leave survivors with persistent cognitive issues, popularly known as 'brain fog'. Some researchers believe that the infection might age people cognitively by around a decade.
While a study on this matter hasn't been peer-reviewed yet, it does emphasize growing concerns about long-term brain effects from COVID-19. Dr. Zulfi Haneef, a co-author of the study, explains, "These findings tell us that there might be long-term issues...now we are finding more evidence to back that up."
On a positive note, about 56.8% of patients who had follow-up EEG tests showed improvements. Despite the remarkable insights, the study does have its limitations, such as lack of access to raw data from individual studies and the potential skewing of results due to the higher rate of EEG testing among patients with neurological symptoms.
In the grand scheme of things, COVID-19 appears to leave long-lasting neurological and neuropsychiatric impacts, such as cognitive deficits, brain inflammation, mood disorders, and structural brain changes. EEG tests are a critical tool in understanding and monitoring these long-term effects on the brain.
[1] Long COVID is an Epidemic: Addressing the Urgent Need for Research, Treatment, and Rehabilitation. Choi, Y., et al. Neurology, 2021.[2] Long COVID and the Brain: A Narrative Review. Bhattacharya, A., et al. Neuroinflammation, 2021.[3] Neurological and psychiatric sequelae of COVID-19: heterogeneity in presentation and relationship with disease severity. Wade, D.T., et al. EuropePMC, 2021.[4] Long COVID: Time for a Comprehensive National Strategy. Annesi, A., et al. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine, 2021.
- Despite the ongoing focus on COVID-19's respiratory implications, a significant percentage of severe cases exhibit neurological symptoms, such as seizures and strokes.
- The frontal lobes, located near the nose, seems to be a possible entry point for the coronavirus in the brain, based on abnormalities detected in EEG tests.
- Besides the virus itself, systemic effects like inflammation and cardiac arrest could contribute to the brain abnormalities observed in EEG results.
- In addition to immediate harm, COVID-19 may result in long-term cognitive issues, often referred to as 'brain fog,' and could potentially age the brain by about a decade.
- The long-term neurological and neuropsychiatric impacts of COVID-19 can include cognitive deficits, brain inflammation, mood disorders, and structural brain changes.
- EEG tests are instrumental in understanding and monitoring the neurological effects of COVID-19 over time, but they also have limitations, such as limited access to raw data and potential biases due to higher testing rates among patients with neurological symptoms.
- The studies on COVID-19's long-term neurological and neuropsychiatric effects call for increased research, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies – much like an 'epidemic' of its own – to address the growing concerns about these issues.
