Nature Medicine - Individuals with COVID-19 are at an increased risk for an array of neurologic disorders at 12 months, even in those who were not hospitalized during the acute phase of the infection.

Of all of COVID-19’s symptoms, one of the most troubling is “brain fog.” Victims report headaches, trouble concentrating, and forgetfulness. Now, researchers have shown that SARS-CoV-2 can cause brain cells to fuse together, disrupting their communication. Although the study was only done in cells in a lab dish, some scientists say it could help explain one of the pandemic’s most confounding symptoms.

Brain fog. Memory lapses. Difficulties focusing or sustaining attention. All these cognitive issues have plagued some who have otherwise recovered from a bout of Covid-19. In this video, Stanford neurologist Michelle Monje describes her work showing how even mild respiratory infections with the SARS-CoV-2 virus may lead to lingering problems with the brain. Monje, who has long treated and studied cancer patients with similar symptoms following chemotherapy, says that the damage isn’t necessarily caused by the virus itself. Instead, her work suggests that inflammatory molecules released in the lungs of someone with Covid may trigger a reaction of immune cells in the brain. These brain cells, called microglia, then start a cascade of signals that alter the behavior of other brain cells, eventually slowing communication between neurons. The good news, Monje says, is that the similarities to what she calls “chemobrain” may mean that many of these persistent cognitive problems will improve with time, just as chemobrain does. READ MORE: Reset: The Science of Crisis & Recovery https://knowablemagazine.org/report/reset ANNUAL REVIEW OF IMMUNOLOGY Neuroinflammation During RNA Viral Infections Some RNA viruses can infiltrate the brain and central nervous system. While the immune response often succeeds in clearing the pathogen, it may also cause inflammation and, in some cases, persistent changes that result in neurologic and psychiatric disease. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-immunol-042718-041417

The causes of long COVID, which disables millions, may come together in the brain and nervous system

As COVID cases rise once again, we're unprepared for the "mass disabling" event caused by long COVID

Researchers analyzed 270 PCC patients from clinics in the UK and Germany using cognitive tests measuring reaction time and sustained attention. Findings revealed significant cognitive slowing in PCC patients compared to healthy controls and those who recovered from COVID-19 without PCC. Even those people infected by COVID who didn't develop Long COVID, the "No PCC" group had a 5x increase in severe cognitive slowing compared to the No COVID group.

Nature - A leaky blood–brain barrier and inflammation might account for some of the cognitive symptoms of COVID-19.

Research shows that even mild COVID-19 can lead to the equivalent of seven years of brain aging

Many people who were hospitalised with COVID-19 continue to have cognitive and psychiatric problems even two to three years post-infection, according to a new study published in Lancet Psychiatry.

Two new high-profile studies add to the increasingly worrisome picture of how even mild cases of COVID-19 can have detrimental effects on brain health.

A study found COVID-19 could be linked to onset cognitive impairment in patients 65 and older.

Researchers have discovered a mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that enhances its ability to infect the central nervous system, potentially explaining neurological symptoms and “long COVID.”

New working paper is believed to be the first to link weaker memory and diminished ‘flexible thinking’ skills to the pandemic’s academic downturn.

Relative to uninfected participants, cognitive deficit (3-point loss in IQ) was seen even in participants who had had completely recovered from mild COVID-19.

Washington Post It’s more than four years since the first cases of covid-19 were identified — but many of its longer-term effects, including for those living with long covid, remain uncle…

Washington Post It’s more than four years since the first cases of covid-19 were identified — but many of its longer-term effects, including for those living with long covid, remain uncle…

"We now know that, unfortunately, COVID can damage the brain in many ways. When people first become sick from the virus, they may develop encephalitis — inflammation of the brain — causing confusion, difficulty concentrating, and memory problems. COVID also can trigger the onset of new psychological disorders such as severe depression or anxiety. It can even cause people to become psychotic — to see and hear things that aren't there and to believe things that aren't true. It often damages the brain's autonomic nervous system, leading to abnormalities in heart rate and blood pressure."

Researchers have discovered that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein persists in the brain and skull bone marrow for years after infection, potentially leading to chronic inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases. Researchers from Helmholtz Munich and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) have uncovere

A significant number of patients who were admitted to hospital with covid-19 still experience substantial cognitive and psychiatric effects as much as three years later, a longitudinal study has found.1 Almost half of the study participants experienced moderate to severe depression, one in four reported moderate to severe anxiety, and four in 10 reported severe cognitive decline. One in nine had objective signs of severe cognitive deficits—equivalent to a loss of 10 IQ points—the research published in the Lancet Psychiatry found. However, the authors acknowledged a risk of selection bias, as the study had a low response rate, with only 19.2% of those invited choosing to take part. Researchers contacted 2469 of the participants in the Post-Hospitalisation Covid-19 study who had been discharged from one …

Anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders were most common, but the researchers also found worrying, if lower, rates of serious neurological complications, especially in patients who had been severely ill with Covid-19.

Nature Reviews Immunology - SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to a diverse array of chronic symptoms, collectively termed ‘long COVID’. In this Review, Altmann and colleagues explore...

Post COVID-19 Condition, commonly known as long COVID, can affect anyone exposed to SARS-CoV-2, regardless of age or severity of original symptoms.

Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) represent an emerging global crisis. However, quantifiable risk factors for PASC and their biological associations are poorly resolved. We executed a deep multi-omic, longitudinal investigation of 309 COVID-19 patients from initial diagnosis to convalescence (2 …

Post-acute infection syndromes may develop after acute viral disease1. Infection with SARS-CoV-2 can result in the development of a post-acute infection syndrome known as long COVID. Individuals with long COVID frequently report unremitting fatigue, post-exertional malaise, and a variety …

Nature Immunology - Roan et al. use Olink and single‐cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to show a dysregulated crosstalk between the cellular and humoral immune responses in individuals with...

Nature Immunology - Phetsouphanh and colleagues show that individuals with long COVID have persistent activation of the innate and adaptive immune system at 8 months after infection and define a...

COVID-19 and long COVID can have long-lasting effects on the immune system and immune cells, leaving people more vulnerable to future illness