COVID Long: Increased Alzheimer’s Risk – New Study
- Long Covid might significantly increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, a new study reveals.
- The study involved 227 people with lasting symptoms like dizziness, altered taste and smell, or mental confusion after having Covid.
- The increase in tau protein was even more pronounced in people with long-term neurological effects from Covid - known as "N-PASC" - for over a year and a...
Long Covid might significantly increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, a new study reveals. The culprit: the tau protein, a key marker for this degenerative illness. Researchers found abnormally high levels of tau in the blood of people experiencing neurological issues after a Covid-19 infection.
The study involved 227 people with lasting symptoms like dizziness, altered taste and smell, or mental confusion after having Covid. Blood tests showed these patients had a 59% increase in tau protein levels in their plasma after infection, compared to their levels before getting sick.
The increase in tau protein was even more pronounced in people with long-term neurological effects from Covid – known as “N-PASC” – for over a year and a half. This could “predict cognitive decline with age,” says Sean Clouston.