How Can Mild COVID-19 Make Your Brain Smaller? Scientists Explain

Researchers have been slowly accumulating fresh and significant information regarding the impacts of COVID-19 after the epidemic has been in the rearview mirror for more than 18 months. Mild coronavirus, they discovered, can make brain smaller/

COVID-19 Could Make Your Brain Smaller, Scientists Say

KTLA said former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb referenced a research, titled "Brain Imaging Before and After COVID-19 in UK Biobank" during CBS' "Face the Nation." The study demonstrates why unvaccinated persons must receive vaccinations. The findings also highlight how evidence is emerging that patients might continue to be affected with COVID-19-related disease months after infection, a phenomenon known as "long COVID."

Gottlieb stated on the news program that some areas of their brain have shrunk. He found the results of the research "extremely concerning." According to Gottlieb, the virus is directly affecting certain areas of the brain. He believes the weight of evidence suggests that COVID is a condition that can cause long-term symptoms.

The former FDA commissioner added that some long-term diseases include recurring excessively rapid heart rates, which might be explained by COVID-19 harming the body's neurological system.

Brain Reacts To COVID-19

Live Science said the researchers reviewed the brain imaging data before bringing people who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 back for more examinations. They compared COVID-19 survivors to non-survivors. Researchers meticulously matched the groups based on age, gender, baseline test date, study site, and common illness risk factors. They likewise added the participants' health characteristics and socioeconomic level.

The researchers discovered significant gray matter changes between individuals infected with COVID-19 and those who had not. Gray matter is made up of the cell bodies of neurons that process information in the brain. The thickness of gray matter tissue in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain was reduced in the COVID-19 group, which was different from the normal patterns found in the group that hadn't received COVID-19.

Gray matter volume and thickness fluctuate over time as people age in the general population. Still, the alterations in those who had been infected with COVID-19 were bigger than typical.

Surprisingly, the outcomes were the same when the researchers separated the people who had severe enough disease to necessitate hospitalization from those who had lesser COVID-19. Even when the illness was not severe enough to warrant hospitalization, patients infected with COVID-19 exhibited a decrease in brain volume.

Researchers Explain What Changes in Brain Volume or Size Mean

One of the most prevalent symptoms reported by people infected with COVID-19 early in the epidemic was a loss of taste and smell, Scientific American said.

Surprisingly, the brain areas affected by COVID-19 are all connected to the olfactory bulb, a structure near the front of the brain that transmits scent signals from the nose to other parts of the brain. The olfactory bulb is connected to temporal lobe areas.

The sense of smell is particularly essential in Alzheimer's research, since some evidence suggests that people who are at risk for the illness have a diminished sense of smell. While it is much too early to make any conclusions about the long-term effects of these COVID-related alterations, the possibility of a link between COVID-19-related brain changes and memory is intriguing - especially considering the areas implicated and their role in memory and Alzheimer's disease.

Check out more news and information on COVID-19 in Science Times.