2023-04-24 06:32:33
MAASTRICHT (ANP) – Researchers see no evidence of brain damage in people who have been hospitalized with a serious corona infection, Maastricht University reports. The reason for the research was the neurological problems that doctors saw during the first corona wave in patients who had been in ICU.
But people who experienced this “show no evidence of brain damage from the disease afterwards,” says the university. The study followed two groups of corona patients: 104 people who had been in the regular nursing ward and 101 people who had been admitted to the ICU. Nine months after discharge from the hospital, the researchers used scans and tests to examine the possible brain damage and the consequences, such as memory disorders. They also asked about complaints, such as fatigue.
“We expected that people from the group of IC patients, who were after all the most seriously ill, would also have the greatest brain damage and more complaints,” explains Caroline van Heugten, professor of clinical neuropsychology at Maastricht. But it wasn’t. “The MRI scans of the brain were largely comparable, only we saw more microbleeds on the MRI scans of the IC patients. Patients with such microbleeds did not have more disorders or complaints.”
There were also no differences between the two groups in thinking functions or mental well-being. However, more than half of the patients who were followed suffered from complaints such as fatigue, forgetfulness and concentration problems. Such complaints are also referred to as long-term covid. They also occur in people who did not have to go to hospital after being infected with corona, says Van Heugten. The cause of such complaints is not yet clear.
Source: © 2023 ANP ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
#indications #brain #damage #severe #corona