San Antonio researchers prove that COVID-19 can affect the brain

SAINT ANTHONY – The coronavirus pandemic has affected the planet for almost a year and now researchers at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio are studying how COVID-19 affects the brain.

UT Health dementia researchers helped write the report, including lead author Gabriel A. de Erausquin, who said that “Since the 1917 and 1918 flu pandemics, many of the similar diseases have associated with brain disorders ”.

According to De Erausquin, “these respiratory viruses included H1N1 and SARS-CoV. The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, is also known to affect the brain and nervous system.”

The Alzheimer’s Association provides funding for this new research, which helps gather data from more than 30 countries “to understand how COVID-19 increases the risk, severity, rate, and progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and psychiatric illnesses, including depression. “, Says a statement from UT Health.

Researchers have already discovered that coronavirus enters cellular receptors called ACE2, the highest concentration of which is found in the olfactory bulb of the brain, which is related to people’s sense of smell.

“Olfactory cells are very susceptible to viral invasion and are especially targeted by SARS-CoV-2, which is why one of the prominent symptoms of COVID-19 is loss of smell,” said Sudha Seshadri. another UT Health researcher.

The olfactory bulb connects to the hippocampus of the brain, primarily responsible for short-term memory.

“The trail of the virus, when it invades the brain, leads almost directly to the hippocampus,” deususquin said. “It is thought to be one of the sources of cognitive impairment observed in patients with COVID-19. We suspect it may also be part of the reason why there will be an accelerated cognitive decline over time in susceptible individuals.”

Researchers have also found that SARS-CoV-2 can be found in the brain after patients die and that abnormal brain images, sometimes characterized by injury to different areas of the brain, “have emerged as a major feature of COVID. -19 from all over the world “.

UT Health officials said researchers will continue to gather information for the next 2-3 years and expect initial results in early 2022. The World Health Organization is also helping to guide the study.

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