A blank mind after the corona virus is cured… “It’s like brain cells from dementia patients”

• Similar to ‘brain fog’ and ‘cognitive impairment’
  Changes in microglia were found
  Even mild corona can be damaged

[헤럴드경제=김유진 기자] A study result showed that the symptoms of ‘brain fog’, which one in four confirmed patients experience after being cured, and ‘chemo brain’ experienced by those who received strong drug or radiation therapy are not different, a study found. Even people who have suffered from COVID-19 as lightly as a cold have experienced these symptoms.

The Washington Post (WP) reported on the 27th (local time) that Stanford University neuroscientist Dr. Brain fog is a symptom in which a feeling of emptiness like a fog in the head continues, resulting in decreased concentration or memory, and depression.

According to Dr. Michel, the ‘dark fog’ phenomenon seen in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients was also found in the brains of Corona 19 patients who suffered from COVID-19 as lightly as a cold.

The research team found the same brain inflammation signals in patients who died from COVID-19 and patients who developed cognitive impairment symptoms due to COVID-19. The pattern of changes in the reactivity of ‘Microglia’, a white matter responsible for immune function in the brain, was the same in the three groups.

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The microglia, which have been found to change in COVID-19 patients, act to protect the brain by processing harmful substances found in the brain. It is known that excessive activation causes damage to nerve cells in the brain and worsens depression, and when the ability to process specific proteins decreases, the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, the cause of dementia, increases.

Studies have shown that even COVID-19 patients with only mild respiratory symptoms can cause severe multicellular dysregulation in the brain, affecting microglia function. In particular, the reactivity of microglia to the myelin sheath (insulating material surrounding the axon of nerve cells in the central nervous system), which has a significant impact on cognitive function, is the brain of Corona 19 patients who have suffered ‘brain fog’ and the brain of cancer patients suffering from cognitive impairment. appeared to change in the same way.

This study has not yet been peer-reviewed. Dr. Monze’s research team predicted that “(existing) studies on the side effects of treatment for cancer patients could help treat the symptoms of brain fog caused by COVID-19.”

kacew@heraldcorp.com