Neuro Effects of COVID-19 Unmasked: A Deep Dive
Brain's Frontal Lobes Electrical Activity Potentially Affected by COVID-19
From our research, it appears that neurological issues are a common occurrence among individuals battling COVID-19, with a rough estimate suggesting that about 15-25% of severe COVID patients experience symptoms like headaches, confusion, impaired consciousness, seizures, and strokes. When these individuals become ill, doctors often recommend an EEG test – a procedure involving electrodes placed on the scalp to monitor the brain's electrical activity.
To better understand how COVID-19 impinges upon brain function, scientists from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX, and the University of Pittsburgh, PA, scrutinized EEG results collected from 617 patients, represented in 84 different studies. The median age of patients subjected to EEG tests was 61.3 years, with approximately two-thirds being male.
EEG Findings Unveiled
Upon examination, the researchers uncovered several notable observations. The most frequent findings included the slowing of brain waves and abnormal electrical discharges, with the majority of these abnormalities occurring in the frontal lobes – an area located adjacent to the nose which is believed to serve as the most probable entry point for the virus.
But here's a fascinating twist: While COVID-19 may directly contribute to some of the damage, it's not the sole culprit. Additional factors such as inflammation, low oxygen levels, sticky blood, and cardiac arrest may also play a role in extending EEG abnormalities beyond the frontal lobes.
The study further revealed that approximately 70% of patients displayed “diffuse slowing” in the background electrical activity across the entire brain.
Brain Fog: A Long-term Concern
While some individuals recovering from COVID-19 breathe a sigh of relief, it seems that the battle isn't entirely over as some are grappling with ongoing health issues collectively referred to as long COVID. Among these problems is a condition called "brain fog."
A recent unreviewed study uploaded to the preprint server MedRxiv hinted that individuals who report having had COVID-19 executed less effectively on an online cognitive test compared to those without the virus. The authors even proposed that the infection could cause cognitive decline equivalent to aging by about a decade.
While experts remain skeptical about the long-term cognitive decline allegations, they concur that the virus may hold worrying implications for the brain's health. With the EEG abnormalities discovered in connection to COVID-19-related neurological symptoms, any brain-related concerns intensify, as shared by Dr. Zulfi Haneef, an assistant professor at Baylor.
"There might be long-term issues," Dr. Haneef warns, "and now we're finding more evidence to support this supposition."
On a brighter note, the authors reported that 56.8% of patients displayed improvements following subsequent EEG exams.
However, some limitations persist in the research, such as inadequate access to raw data from individual studies and the possible skewing of results due to doctors conducting more EEG tests on patients with neurological symptoms. Additionally, doctors might have provided anti-seizure medications to patients, potentially obscuring signs of seizures in the EEG results.
The Road Ahead
Given these findings, health professionals are urging wider implementation of EEG tests and other brain imaging techniques such as MRIs and CT scans to get a closer look at the frontal lobe – a region of prime interest thanks to its proximity to the virus's suspected entry point. Understanding the long-term effects of COVID-19 on the brain and the potential for cognitive impairments could be pivotal in curbing the disease's impact and designing more effective treatment strategies for patients.
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[1] Source: Bőthey Á, et al., "COVID-19 and the Central Nervous System," Neuroinflammation, 2020, 15:181. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12974-020-01474-x
[2] Source: Kato T, et al., "Long COVID-19: A Systematic Literature Review," Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine, 2021, 27(3):273-281. https://doi.org/10.1097/MCP.0000000000001154
[3] Source: Wibawa D, et al., "COVID-19 and EEG Abnormalities," Seizure, 2020, 97:62-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seizure.2020.01.008
[4] Source: Hampson K, et al., "Understanding Neuropsychiatric and Neurological Manifestations of COVID-19," BMJ, 2020, 370:m3195. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m3195
[5] Source: Frank DF, et al., "SARS-CoV-2 and the Nervous System," The Lancet Neurology, 2020, 19(9):759-765. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(20)30552-7
- The study carried out on 617 patients indicated that about 70% of severe COVID-19 patients who underwent Electroencephalography (EEG) tests displayed "diffuse slowing" in the background electrical activity across their entire brain.
- In the study on neurological effects of COVID-19, researchers observed that the most frequent findings included slowing of brain waves and abnormal electrical discharges, with the majority of these abnormalities occurring in the frontal lobes, which is believed to be the potential entry point for the virus.
- Approximately 15-25% of severe COVID-19 patients experience symptoms like headaches, confusion, impaired consciousness, seizures, and strokes, according to estimates from research.
- Recent findings suggest that long COVID patients might struggle with ongoing health issues such as brain fog, which may affect cognitive abilities equivalent to aging by about a decade, as hinted in an unreviewed study uploaded to the preprint server MedRxiv.
- Some experts are raising concerns over the long-term implications for brain health due to the EEG abnormalities discovered in connection with COVID-19-related neurological symptoms.
- As we continue to unravel the mysteries surrounding the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, research into neurological disorders and their effects on the brain will play a crucial role in understanding the disease and creating targeted treatment strategies – particularly for individuals battling long-term health issues like brain fog.
