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COVID-19 could increase risk of brain ailments such as Alzheimer’s, depression, SA doctors say


The article, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, cites decades of scientific evidence suggesting it is very likely that COVID-19 will have long-term effects on the brains and nervous systems of its survivors. The Alzheimer’s Association is helping launch a study to better understand how COVID-19 could increase the risk of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and psychiatric illnesses, including depression.

He said research is needed but that chronic consequences of COVID-19 could impact many individuals’ quality of life and independence and it is likely that even mild infections will have some negative long-term effects on the brain.

“The under-recognized medical history of these viruses over the last century suggests a strong link to brain diseases that affect memory and behavior,” said Maria Carrillo, Alzheimer’s Association chief science officer and a co-author on the article.

The study will consist of work from a consortium of scientific experts representing over 30 countries, according to a statement from UT Health. The Alzheimer’s Association, a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to Alzheimer’s care, support and research, is putting about $300,000 toward the initial funding, said Heather Snyder, its vice president of medical and scientific relations.

These experts will enroll study participants from a pool of millions of confirmed COVID-19 cases documented in hospitals worldwide. A second group will consist of people who are participating in other international COVID-19 studies.

Participants will be evaluated at an initial appointment and again at six, nine, and 18 months. They will be tested on their cognition, behavior, and brain activity measured by magnetic resonance imaging.

Proof that the virus affects the brain lies in the COVID-19 symptom of anosmia, or loss of smell, said consortium member Dr. Sudha Seshadri, professor of neurology in the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio, director of the Glenn Biggs Institute, and a senior author of Tuesday’s article.

Some of the respiratory viruses [like COVID-19] have an affinity for nervous system cells,” Seshadri said. “Olfactory cells [our smell nerve cells] are very susceptible to viral invasion and are particularly targeted by SARS-CoV-2, and that’s why one of the prominent symptoms of COVID-19 is loss of smell.”

The olfactory bulb – the bundle of nerves that transmit smell information from the nose to the brain – connects with the hippocampus, a brain structure primarily responsible for short-term memory. The hippocampus also is one of the first areas to be affected by Alzheimer’s disease.

The path the SARS-CoV-2 virus takes when it invades the brain leads almost straight to the hippocampus, de Erausquin said.

“That is believed to be one of the [reasons for] the cognitive impairment observed in COVID-19 patients,” he said. “We suspect it may also be part of the reason why there will be an accelerated cognitive decline over time in susceptible individuals.”
 

Riven326

Banned
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FYI: it's just a theory at this point. That's why they're launching this study. It is interesting though, that the loss of smell / taste could be nerve damage, closely linked to the brain.

There are other theories too though.


Reporting in Science Advances on July 24, the research team found that olfactory sensory neurons do not express the gene that encodes the ACE2 receptor protein, which SARS-CoV-2 uses to enter human cells. Instead, ACE2 is expressed in cells that provide metabolic and structural support to olfactory sensory neurons, as well as certain populations of stem cells and blood vessel cells.

The findings suggest that infection of nonneuronal cell types may be responsible for anosmia in COVID-19 patients and help inform efforts to better understand the progression of the disease.

“Our findings indicate that the novel coronavirus changes the sense of smell in patients not by directly infecting neurons but by affecting the function of supporting cells,” said senior study author Sandeep Robert Datta, associate professor of neurobiology in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS.

This implies that in most cases, SARS-CoV-2 infection is unlikely to permanently damage olfactory neural circuits and lead to persistent anosmia, Datta added, a condition that is associated with a variety of mental and social health issues, particularly depression and anxiety.

“I think it’s good news, because once the infection clears, olfactory neurons don’t appear to need to be replaced or rebuilt from scratch,” he said. “But we need more data and a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms to confirm this conclusion.”
 
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showernota

Member
Wow, I was just coming to post this.


Doctors who treat COVID-19 patients are reporting that a small number of them are developing severe psychotic symptoms weeks or months after contracting the virus, the New York Timesreported.

Most of those patients had mild physical symptoms from coronavirus and usually had no history of mental illness, the Times said.

One patient described by the Times was 42 years old, a physical therapist and the mother of four children, aged 2-10. She got the coronavirus in the spring, had mild symptoms, and months later heard a voice telling her to kill herself and then telling her to kill her children.

She took herself to a psychiatric hospital in Amityville, NY.

“It was like she was experiencing a movie, like 'Kill Bill,'” a psychiatrist at the hospital, Hisam Goueli, MD, told the Times.
It's unclear how often this problem appears in COVID-19 patients. The Times mentioned that a British study of neurological or psychiatric complications in 153 hospitalized COVID-19 patients found that 10 people had “new-onset psychosis.”
 
What worries me is what happens if no long term immunity is possible to current virus? Or if the rate of mutation creates new variants that the immune system needs to develop new immunity to?

And given we humans don't have good regeneration, what if all these blood clots and organ damage not only is long lasting, or permanent, but cumulative additional damage can be done from repeated infections?
 

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
Alright this might be related on monday I got Covid vaccine because I am in very high risk group and since like 2am of this day, now it's 2pm, exactly 96 hours since vaccine, I am shaking, mentally unwell and I cannot concetrate. It's very fucking uncomfortable. But no fever, no evelvated blood pressure. Just the neurological shake, eyes cannot stay in one place, they move slightly from point to point....like if you are really scared. I can hear my heart in my head and...

What is happening to me, I am kind of freak out...
 

borborygmus

Member
Alright this might be related on monday I got Covid vaccine because I am in very high risk group and since like 2am of this day, now it's 2pm, exactly 96 hours since vaccine, I am shaking, mentally unwell and I cannot concetrate. It's very fucking uncomfortable. But no fever, no evelvated blood pressure. Just the neurological shake, eyes cannot stay in one place, they move slightly from point to point....like if you are really scared. I can hear my heart in my head and...

What is happening to me, I am kind of freak out...
Go to the hospital. If you don't think it's that serious, maybe go and wait outside, and if it gets worse you can go into the ER.
 

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
Go to the hospital. If you don't think it's that serious, maybe go and wait outside, and if it gets worse you can go into the ER.
I am in contact with hospital obviously, I called them and they told me, that this is to be expected and I should take my prescription Benzo. I still have GAD, which could be related. Maybe I should not read everysingle thing about vacinne. I am calmer now slightly. I have scheduled check tomorrow or if needed I should call myself an Ambulance. Ugh. Also when there is no change in those parameters, like temperature of body, blood pressure and weight gain, there is no need for panic. I am panicking anyway. My GF can drop me into hospital or Ambulance could be here in 2 minutes if needed. So, I guess for time being, I am not going to put myself in a danger that I got contracted in when I am weakend by that vaccine.
 

Croatoan

They/Them A-10 Warthog
I am in contact with hospital obviously, I called them and they told me, that this is to be expected and I should take my prescription Benzo. I still have GAD, which could be related. Maybe I should not read everysingle thing about vacinne. I am calmer now slightly. I have scheduled check tomorrow or if needed I should call myself an Ambulance. Ugh. Also when there is no change in those parameters, like temperature of body, blood pressure and weight gain, there is no need for panic. I am panicking anyway. My GF can drop me into hospital or Ambulance could be here in 2 minutes if needed. So, I guess for time being, I am not going to put myself in a danger that I got contracted in when I am weakend by that vaccine.
It sounds like you are having a panic attack? You have GAD so you SHOULD NOT GOOGLE SHIT ON THE INTERNET. I suffer from GAD and Health Anxiety (Hypochondria) and the absolute worse thing you can do is look at shit online. Your mind can MAKE those symptoms appear and it will fuck with your GAD and give you panic attacks. Just ignore COVID, you can't change it, and you already started the vaccination process.

If you have no REAL symptoms (temp, blood pressure, ect) then you mind is creating them. Believe me I fucking know about this. Cuz I live it every day.

Edit: Its been documented that people with GAD/Hypochondria are insanely sensitive to vaccines, medicines and minor illnesses. In their minds they are able to tell the smallest differences in their body and then exaserbate these by focusing on them. Eventually these minor pains that others ignore become massive issues to them. The thing is...these pains are nothing and its all in there head. This happens to me every time I take a new medication or think I am sick with something. If I know the side effects, I get ALL OF THEM.
 
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M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
It sounds like you are having a panic attack? You have GAD so you SHOULD NOT GOOGLE SHIT ON THE INTERNET. I suffer from GAD and Health Anxiety (Hypochondria) and the absolute worse thing you can do is look at shit online. Your mind can MAKE those symptoms appear and it will fuck with your GAD and give you panic attacks. Just ignore COVID, you can't change it, and you already started the vaccination process.

If you have no REAL symptoms (temp, blood pressure, ect) then you mind is creating them. Believe me I fucking know about this. Cuz I live it every day.
Honestly after liver transplant a lot of GAD stuff fucked off, I would be totally fine before knowing, but this situation really does not happened since I was admitted to hospital. Which is strange. So yeah it's combination of underlying issues and that those have not really happened recently.
 
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