People who have touched Long Covid have unique changes in their brains, making it more difficult to think and speak.
A new study showed that they have less protective proteins in their brains and higher levels of inflammation, both linked to dementia.
Long Covid patients also perform worse in language tests, such as finding the right word or understanding what certain words mean, what signs of brain mist can be.
For the first time, the study suggests that damage to the brain caused the symptoms of long Covid instead of a raised immune system.
Although the study only included 17 people, the researchers are planning to use the findings to launch studies on a larger scale to find the causes of Long Covid.
Dr. Michael Lawrence, head study author and neuropsychologist at Corewell Health in Michigan, said: “As far as we know, this is the first controlled study that specific self-reported neurocognitive and central nervous systems changes with long COVID patients who have experienced the symptoms they have experienced.”
Long Covid is an amorphous condition that consists of a constellation of symptoms of brain fog and fatigue to heart infection and joint pain.
An estimated 17 million Americans have it.
Researchers in Michigan found that long Covid could be caused by reduced protective proteins in the brain and higher levels of harmful inflammation (stock image)
Some people can only experience shortness of breath and fatigue, while others can only experience brain fog and concentration.
That is why diagnosing Long Covid is a challenge.
The study, published in the Journal Plos One, looked at 17 patients aged 25 to 60 who were previously infected with Covid at least six months earlier.
The participants include 10 people with the diagnosis of Long Covid and seven those healthy checks.
All patient was feminine and the average age was 42.
Participants completed interviews about their persistent symptoms that could have been brain mist, memory problems, fatigue, fear or depression.
Researchers have also performed cognitive tests to evaluate the processing speed, language, learning and memory, problem solving, multitasking and concentration.
The researchers also drew blood samples from each participant to test increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol and the inflammation.
The experts discovered that long COVID patients had 33 percent lower levels of nerve growth factor (NGF) in their brains, a protein that helps maintain neurons in the brain and the central nervous system.
Low NGF levels are associated with neurocognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis.
Long Covid patients also had 50 percent more interleukine 10, a protein that helps regulate inflammation and immune reactions in the body.
Although Interleukin 10 normally controls inflammation, high levels can have the opposite effect and create more inflammation in the central nervous system.
Nine out of 10 participants in the long COVID group had increased inflammatory markers such as Interleukin 10 compared to one of the seven healthy checks.
In addition, long Covid patients scored 30 percent lower on tests of language processing, indicating long Covid triggers inflammation in the language centers of the brain.
The team also discovered that long Covid patients were 75 percent more likely than healthy patients to generally undergo a deteriorated quality of life. They also had a 61 percent increased the risk of general pain or discomfort.
Dr. Alison Cohen, an epidemiologist and a long Covid researcher at the University of California San Francisco, never thought that Long Covid would increase her life. But three years after getting Covid, she can hardly run or take a long drive before she feels sick
Violet Affleck-viewed with Father Ben Affleck and stepmother Jennifer Lopez-Is pronounced about connecting ‘a post-viral state’ in 2019. She called on local governments to confront the long COVID crisis’
The findings suggest that long Covid symptoms are caused by increased inflammatory markers in the brain and lower levels of NGF, which would normally protect neurons and reduce inflammation.
This increased inflammation can damage parts of the brain that are responsible for language processing, as well as those which pain and depression regulate.
Dr. Lawrence said: “Additional services such as speech therapy, psychotherapy for stress reduction and the recording of medicines that focus on fatigue and mental fogginess can all be elements to create a successful treatment plan.”
The team noted that although the study is small and has various limitations, including most participants who are female and white, they hope to conduct larger studies to confirm the findings.
Dr. Judith Arnetz, corresponding study author and professor Emerita at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, said: ‘Although this is a small investigation and more work must be done, from a clinical application position, doctors can possibly identify individuals who previously struggles and offer wrap-sound care that can be useful for them.
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