COVID-19 can affect brain, scientists say

Coronavirus can cause some devastating complications for the human brain, said research by scientists from Liverpool, Yale Universities, University College London, and Icon Medical Center.

Report informs, citing the journal Nature, that in 62% of patients with the virus and neurological and psychiatric complications, the brain’s blood supply is impaired. At the same time, 31% of sufferers experienced changes such as mental confusion and long-term unconsciousness.

According to a study by University College London, the most common neurological complications of COVID-19 are stroke, as well as encephalitis – an inflammation of brain tissue. It can be more severe – infection of the scalp and loss of its nerve cells, leading to a form of acute epileptic encephalomyelitis, which causes multiple sclerosis.

In some of these severe subjects, respiratory symptoms were poorly expressed. Neurological symptoms can occur in different groups of the population.

“We saw a group of young patients with severe mental changes who did not have the usual risk factors for stroke,” stated Benedict Michael, a neurologist at the University of Liverpool.

According to Fernand de Felice, a neurologist at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, more than 50% of severe COVID-19 cases may have neurological complications. However, due to the lack of information, it is complicated to determine the prevalence of neurological symptoms among people who have had a mild or asymptomatic form of coronavirus.