Brain damage can be attributed to Covid-19, scientists warn

“We must be vigilant and be aware of these complications in people who have used Covid-19,” said the senior author with Dr. Michael Zandi in a UCL press release, cautioned that remains to be seen “whether we will see epidemics on a large scale of brain damage associated with a pandemic.”

Among these patients, researchers found 10 cases of “transient brain dysfunction” and delirium; 12 cases of brain inflammation; eight cases of stroke; and eight cases of nerve damage.

Most patients who show inflammation of the brain are diagnosed with a specific, rare and sometimes deadly condition known as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). Before the pandemic, the research team in London will see about one ADEM patient per month. During the study period, the number rises to at least one week.

A woman hallucinating lions and monkeys in her house. Others report numbness in their limbs or face, double vision, and disorientation. One severe patient is almost unconscious, responding only when in pain.

Researchers are still trying to find out why Covid-19 patients actually experience this brain complication. The virus that causes Covid-19 is not found in their brain fluid, which means the virus does not directly attack the brain. One theory, in contrast, is that complications are indirectly triggered by the immune response of the patient’s body – not from the virus itself.

These findings are important to inform how doctors around the world monitor and treat patients – but they also raise new questions and challenges. For patients who do not show severe respiratory symptoms such as difficulty in breathing, it may be difficult to identify these brain complications early enough to prevent or minimize damage. And for critically ill patients, their precarious health can limit how much doctors can do to investigate what is happening in their brain.

The authors warn that further research will be “important” in finding out how the virus actually causes brain damage, and how to treat it.

“Given that this disease has only been around for a few months, we may not know what long-term damage Covid-19 can cause,” the co-author and Dr. Ross Paterson in a press release. “Doctors need to be aware of possible neurological effects, because early diagnosis can improve patient outcomes.”

David Strain of the University of Exeter Medical School, which is not part of the study, said the findings were important but “not surprising” given the previous coronavirus cases.

“The main limitation is that we don’t know what the denominator is so we don’t know how often these complications occur,” he said in a statement on Wednesday. “We have seen that some people with Covid-19 may need a long rehabilitation period – both physical rehabilitation such as sports, and brain rehabilitation. We need to understand more about the effects of this infection on the brain.”