2024-10-04 12:00:14
These are two recent studies that warn, once again, of the risk of prolonged cognitive deficit, one year after contracting Covid-19. The first, published in early October in the magazine The Lancetconcerns young and healthy subjects who have been voluntarily infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and who have developed a mild form of Covid. The second, published on September 23 in the newspaper Nature medicinethey followed people, with an average age of 54, who had been hospitalized for severe Covid.
In both cases the infection seems to have a prolonged deterioration of cognitive faculties, to a slight extent in young people and more accentuated in the elderly. “Covid-19 is not always a a shot that we eliminate completely: the infection can cause prolonged cognitive sequelae, most likely even mild ones”summarizes Mahmoud Zureik, professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Versailles-Saint-Quentin (Yvelines).
In truth, these are not the first studies to warn of the phenomenon. SARS-CoV-2 certainly shows a strong tropism for the respiratory tract (nose, throat and lungs), but it can also affect other organs: the microvessels, the heart, the kidneys, the digestive system… and the brain, SO . But this is not about examining neurological complications that occur during the severe acute phases of the disease : stroke, delirium or confusion, neuromuscular disorders, etc.
“Worrying result”
The study published by THE Hand However, there is no talk of “long Covid” in this regard young patients monitored, as the cognitive disorders – objectively measurable – are mild. Furthermore, if tests highlight these impairments, patients do not perceive them.
William Trender and colleagues from Imperial College and King’s College London recruited thirty-four volunteer participants, aged between 18 and 30, who were given a very low dose of SARS-CoV-2 (original strain). was injected. Only eighteen of them were infected, and investigators were able to compare the infected group with the uninfected one. They were also able to evaluate cognitive functions before and after infection by monitoring each volunteer. “The result is worrying, because these healthy young people show mild cognitive deficits, which persist at least a year after infection”summarizes Lisa Chakrabarti, of the Pasteur Institute, in Paris. “This deterioration is small, but significant. This is all the more important as the viral load is high”adds Mr. Zureik.
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