Brain's frontal lobe electrical activity can be disrupted by COVID-19 infection.
Investigation Reveals Brain Abnormalities in COVID-19 Patients
Sickness in the noggin: New research is shedding light on brain abnormalities in patients experiencing neurological symptoms with COVID-19. Here's the scoop!
Approximately 15-25% of severe COVID-19 patients may experience neurological symptoms like headaches, confusion, and even strokes. These poor souls often end up undergoing Electroencephalography (EEG) tests for a closer look at their brain's electrical activity.
To find out more about coronavirus's impact on our grey matter, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Texas and the University of Pittsburgh delved into EEG results from 617 patients gathered in 84 different studies. Interestingly, around a third of the patients showed abnormal findings, with the frontal lobes being the most affected.
Study co-author and neuro-nerd, Dr. Zulfi Haneef, shares his thoughts on the correlation between the virus's entry point (the nose) and the affected brain area:
So, what could be causing these EEG abnormalities? Maybe the virus, maybe not. Researchers suspect that systemic effects like inflammation, low oxygen levels, and unusual blood clotting might also play a role.
Over 70% of patients in the study showed "diffuse slowing," or sluggish brain waves across the entire brain. Now, don't worry; if you've had COVID-19 and are experiencing "brain fog", there's a glimmer of hope - around half of patients with follow-up EEGs presented improvements.
However, call it what you will - long COVID or lasting effects - experts are on guard about the potential longer-term consequences on the brain.
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[*Note: The enrichment data points to potential cognitive and functional connectivity impairments not directly linked to COVID-19 EEG abnormalities in frontal lobes, but the research data provided in the article mainly focuses on COVID-19 and its effects on neurological symptoms and EEG findings.]
- The investigation into brain abnormalities in patients with COVID-19 also uncovers a link between the virus and epilepsy seizures, as around a third of these patients showed abnormal EEG findings.
- In addition to COVID-19's direct impact on the brain, medical-conditions such as inflammation, low oxygen levels, and unusual blood clotting may contribute to the observed EEG abnormalities in patients.
- As more research emerges about the long-term effects of COVID-19 on health-and-wellness, neurologists are growing increasingly concerned about the potential for neurological disorders to develop or persist, highlighting the importance of ongoing study into coronavirus and related health issues.
