A recent American study showed that the immune response to corona, which leads to cerebral blood vessel damage, may be responsible for the symptoms of “long-term Covid”, based on the analysis of a small number of cases.
This study, the results of which were published in the journal “Brain”, included an analysis of the cases of nine people who died quickly after contracting Covid-19.
The team of researchers at the American Institutes of Health “NIH” did not monitor any effects of the virus in the brain, but in turn, they found antibodies, which bear responsibility for the damage caused to the membranes of blood vessels, which cause especially infections.
The image published by the American Institutes of Health to explain the results of the study
This discovery could explain some of the long-term effects of Corona, including headaches, chronic fatigue, loss of smell and taste, sleep problems and a sense of intellectual weakness. It may also open up prospects for future treatments.
“Patients often develop neurological complications after COVID-19, but the pathophysiological pathway is poorly understood,” the study’s lead author, Avindra Nat, explained in a statement.
The researcher continued, “We previously showed the damage to blood vessels in the brain of patients during autopsies, but we did not understand the reason behind this,” adding, “I think this article provides us with new elements about this process.”
The brains of nine patients, aged between 24 and 73, were compared with ten other people from a control group. The researchers monitored nerve inflammation and the immune response.
And according to what scientists discovered, the antibodies secreted as a result of infection with Covid-19 mistakenly targeted the cells that make up the blood-brain barrier that surrounds blood vessels in the brain and tries to counter foreign substances.
A man with coronavirus is hospitalized in Hong Kong (archive)
The deterioration that occurs can in turn lead to leakage of proteins, cases of bleeding and clots in the blood, which increases the risk of stroke.
The extravasation can also trigger an immune response to repair damaged cells, causing inflammation. Then the regularity of the vital work of these damaged parts of the brain is exposed to imbalances.
“It is entirely possible that the same immune response can infect patients with long-term Covid, leading to brain injury,” said researcher Avindra Nat. “These findings have very important therapeutic implications,” he explained.
For example, people with long-term symptoms of Covid can be treated by reducing the production of antibodies responsible for damage to the brain.