Brain fog.Photo: GettyEven mild cases ofCOVID-19 can cause brain damageand shrinkage, a new study found, primarily in the areas that control the sense of smell andmemory processing.The virus was associated with agreater loss of gray matter and tissue damagethan what would normally occur during aging, the researchers, from the University of Oxford, found.The study, published Mondayin the journalNature, looked at brain scans from 401 people between the ages of 51 and 81, both before they contracted COVID-19 and in the months after. Most had mild cases of the virus — only 15 were hospitalized with more severe illnesses. They compared the scans to those of 284 people who had not tested positive for COVID-19 but had similar rates of obesity, smoking, diabetes and blood pressure, and similar demographics like age, sex and socioeconomic status.Those who had COVID-19 had significantly more brain tissue loss and shrinkage, the researchers found. People typically lose around 0.2-0.3% of gray matter each year with normal aging, and those who had COVID-19 were losing far more, up to 2%. They also lost more overall brain volume and had higher amounts of tissue damage.The damage was equivalent to at least an extra year of aging,Gwenaëlle Douaud, an associate professor at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Oxford and the paper’s lead author,told NBC News.“It is brain damage, but it is possible that it is reversible,” she said. “But it is still relatively scary because it was in mildly infected people.“RELATED VIDEO: 29-Year-Old Runner Shares Her Struggle with Long COVID: ‘I’m a Different Person’The changes in the parts of the brain that control the sense of smell and memory processing could explainsome long COVID symptomslike loss of smell and taste and brain fog, researchers said.The study had limitations, which Douaud acknowledged and said pointed to a need for more in-depth research. They did just basic cognitive testing with the patients to see how they performed on memory tests, and the scans were only done up to about five months after COVID-19 illness, so the brain damagecould have improved after.Even with the basic memory tests, though, they did see a difference in how much brain damage occurred based on age. People in their 50s and early 60s who had COVID-19 performed similarly to those who didn’t contract the virus, and the gap increased significantly from there.“I don’t know if that’s because younger people recover faster or they were not as affected to start with,” DouaudtoldThe New York Times. “Could be either or it could be both.“As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
Brain fog.Photo: Getty
Even mild cases ofCOVID-19 can cause brain damageand shrinkage, a new study found, primarily in the areas that control the sense of smell andmemory processing.The virus was associated with agreater loss of gray matter and tissue damagethan what would normally occur during aging, the researchers, from the University of Oxford, found.The study, published Mondayin the journalNature, looked at brain scans from 401 people between the ages of 51 and 81, both before they contracted COVID-19 and in the months after. Most had mild cases of the virus — only 15 were hospitalized with more severe illnesses. They compared the scans to those of 284 people who had not tested positive for COVID-19 but had similar rates of obesity, smoking, diabetes and blood pressure, and similar demographics like age, sex and socioeconomic status.Those who had COVID-19 had significantly more brain tissue loss and shrinkage, the researchers found. People typically lose around 0.2-0.3% of gray matter each year with normal aging, and those who had COVID-19 were losing far more, up to 2%. They also lost more overall brain volume and had higher amounts of tissue damage.The damage was equivalent to at least an extra year of aging,Gwenaëlle Douaud, an associate professor at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Oxford and the paper’s lead author,told NBC News.“It is brain damage, but it is possible that it is reversible,” she said. “But it is still relatively scary because it was in mildly infected people.“RELATED VIDEO: 29-Year-Old Runner Shares Her Struggle with Long COVID: ‘I’m a Different Person’The changes in the parts of the brain that control the sense of smell and memory processing could explainsome long COVID symptomslike loss of smell and taste and brain fog, researchers said.The study had limitations, which Douaud acknowledged and said pointed to a need for more in-depth research. They did just basic cognitive testing with the patients to see how they performed on memory tests, and the scans were only done up to about five months after COVID-19 illness, so the brain damagecould have improved after.Even with the basic memory tests, though, they did see a difference in how much brain damage occurred based on age. People in their 50s and early 60s who had COVID-19 performed similarly to those who didn’t contract the virus, and the gap increased significantly from there.“I don’t know if that’s because younger people recover faster or they were not as affected to start with,” DouaudtoldThe New York Times. “Could be either or it could be both.“As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
Even mild cases ofCOVID-19 can cause brain damageand shrinkage, a new study found, primarily in the areas that control the sense of smell andmemory processing.
The virus was associated with agreater loss of gray matter and tissue damagethan what would normally occur during aging, the researchers, from the University of Oxford, found.
The study, published Mondayin the journalNature, looked at brain scans from 401 people between the ages of 51 and 81, both before they contracted COVID-19 and in the months after. Most had mild cases of the virus — only 15 were hospitalized with more severe illnesses. They compared the scans to those of 284 people who had not tested positive for COVID-19 but had similar rates of obesity, smoking, diabetes and blood pressure, and similar demographics like age, sex and socioeconomic status.
Those who had COVID-19 had significantly more brain tissue loss and shrinkage, the researchers found. People typically lose around 0.2-0.3% of gray matter each year with normal aging, and those who had COVID-19 were losing far more, up to 2%. They also lost more overall brain volume and had higher amounts of tissue damage.
The damage was equivalent to at least an extra year of aging,Gwenaëlle Douaud, an associate professor at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Oxford and the paper’s lead author,told NBC News.
“It is brain damage, but it is possible that it is reversible,” she said. “But it is still relatively scary because it was in mildly infected people.”
RELATED VIDEO: 29-Year-Old Runner Shares Her Struggle with Long COVID: ‘I’m a Different Person’
The changes in the parts of the brain that control the sense of smell and memory processing could explainsome long COVID symptomslike loss of smell and taste and brain fog, researchers said.
The study had limitations, which Douaud acknowledged and said pointed to a need for more in-depth research. They did just basic cognitive testing with the patients to see how they performed on memory tests, and the scans were only done up to about five months after COVID-19 illness, so the brain damagecould have improved after.
Even with the basic memory tests, though, they did see a difference in how much brain damage occurred based on age. People in their 50s and early 60s who had COVID-19 performed similarly to those who didn’t contract the virus, and the gap increased significantly from there.
“I don’t know if that’s because younger people recover faster or they were not as affected to start with,” DouaudtoldThe New York Times. “Could be either or it could be both.”
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
