Brain's Frontal Lobes May Experience Alterations in Electrical Activity Due to COVID-19
Curious about how the coronavirus affects the brain? Let's dive into the latest research.
Catching COVID-19 can lead to various neurological symptoms, such as headaches, mental confusion, seizures, and strokes. In severe cases, up to 25% of patients may experience these issues. If you're suffering from such symptoms, your doctor might refer you for an EEG test. This test involves placing electrodes on your scalp to monitor your brain's electrical activity.
Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh have been investigating how COVID-19 impacts the brain, analyzing EEG results from 617 patients across 84 different studies. Most of these patients were in their 60s, and about two-thirds were males.
The researchers detected abnormalities in brain activity, primarily slowing of brain waves and unusual electrical discharges. Interestingly, these abnormalities were most prevalent in the frontal lobes—the region of the brain directly next to the nose, which is the suspected entry point for the virus.
It's crucial to note that the virus may not directly cause all brain damage. Other systemic effects of the infection, including inflammation, low oxygen levels, and cardiac arrest, may also contribute to EEG abnormalities that extend beyond just the frontal lobes.
Some people who recover from COVID-19 report ongoing health problems, which are now known as "long COVID." Among these is "brain fog," a cognitive decline that resembles the effects of aging. Although a recent study indicates that COVID-19 could age people cognitively by around a decade, these findings aren't definitive. Yet, the presence of EEG abnormalities associated with neurological symptoms of COVID-19 adds to concerns about long-term effects on the brain.
On a positive note, improvements were observed in 56.8% of patients who had follow-up EEG tests, suggesting possible recovery from these brain abnormalities.
Keep in mind that this review has limitations, such as missing raw data from individual studies and potential omissions of normal EEGs due to focusing on patients with neurological symptoms. Additionally, doctors administering anti-seizure medications to suspected seizure patients could potentially obscure signs in their EEG traces.
As science continues to unravel the mysteries surrounding the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, it's essential to keep an open mind. The research reviewed here suggests a correlation between COVID-19 severity and brain abnormalities in the frontal lobes, but we still have much to learn about long-term effects and the intricate mechanisms at play.
Stay curious, folks!
- While the coronavirus primarily manifests as a respiratory illness, research has shown that catching COVID-19 can also lead to neurological symptoms such as epilepsy seizures, headaches, mental confusion, and strokes.
- In the realm of health-and-wellness, medical-conditions associated with COVID-19 are beginning to shed light on neurological disorders, such as seizures, and their potential impact on various brain regions, especially the frontal lobes.
- As scientific inquiry delves deeper into the realm of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, a growing body of evidence points towards a connection between COVID-19 and a broad spectrum of neurological disorders, including epilepsy seizures, which could have long-term implications for health-and-wellness.
