COVID-19 likely to impact brain, San Antonio researchers found

SANTO ANTÓNIO – The coronavirus pandemic has ravaged 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 “Since the flu pandemic of 1917 and 1918, many of the flu-like illnesses have been linked to 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. “

Funding for this new research is being provided by the Alzheimer’s Association, which is helping to gather data from more than 30 countries “to understand how COVID-19 increases the risk, severity, pace and progression of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and psychiatric illnesses, including depression, ”a statement from UT Health states.

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

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

The olfactory bulb connects with the brain’s hippocampus, which is mainly responsible for short-term memory.

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

The researchers also found that SARS-CoV-2 can be found in the brain after patients died and that abnormal brain images, sometimes characterized by lesions in different areas of the brain, “emerged as a main feature of COVID-19 of all parts of the world. “

UT Health officials said the researchers will continue to collect 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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