Large number of COVID-19 survivors affected by cognitive complications

HONG KONG - Dec. 5, 2022 - PRLog -- The novel coronavirus has been tormenting humans for nearly three years. Instead of completely disappearing, it seems to be making a comeback. Therefore, scientists have been fighting against the novel coronavirus. After a long-term research, Long COVID has gradually appeared in front of humans. Recently, the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom stated in a paper published in the journal Nature that covid-19 will cause degenerative changes in the areas of the brain in charge of smell and memory in patients, even in mild patients. By testing 740 covid-19 patients aged 38-59, researchers found that about 25% of patients will experience cognitive impairment after 7 or 8 months, unable to concentrate or even think.

What is Cognitive Impairment?

Cognitive impairment refers to changes in cognitive function and is the most common clinical manifestation of dementia. Its main manifestations are unresponsiveness and memory loss, including a certain degree of influence on personal orientation.

Why do cognitive complications arise after COVID-19?

Neuroscientists pointed out that the virus may cause long-term neurological sequelae by affecting the central nervous system, which is the physiological basis of intelligence. Impaired lung function during infection with covid-19 may lead to cognitive decline and neurological lesions. In this case, the oxygen supply to brain cells is reduced, which undoubtedly affects intelligence(http://postcovidbrainfog.org).

Some of the patients infected with the new coronavirus will break through the blood-brain barrier and invade the brain. The virus can break through the human blood-brain barrier, infect cells in the brain, cause neurodegeneration, and develop into brain neuroinflammation. Studies have reported that COVID-19 infection can cause loss of gray matter in the left hemisphere of the brain. There are also research reports confirming that higher levels of the inflammatory marker IL-6 in the brain can cause a decrease in the volume of the hippocampus in the brain: these brain lesions damage memory and cognitive abilities. Patients with long-term cognitive impairment of new coronary pneumonia also showed images of brain damage during CT examinations.