Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : November 20, 2020 9:40 AM IST
COVID-19 virus can affect the entire nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, nerves.
Growing data shows that people with underlying healthy conditions like high blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes are at a higher risk of Covid-19 infections and complications. Another study has revealed that neurological complications like bleeding in the brain and stroke are more common in hypertension and diabetes patients.
The novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19 mainly attacks cells in the respiratory system, causing inflammation in the lungs. But its impact extends far beyond the chest, said study lead author Colbey W Freeman from the University of Pennsylvania in the US.
Complications in the brain are potentially devastating consequence of Covid-19 infection that are being increasingly reported among patients, according to the researchers.
The research team looked at 81 COVID-19 patients who underwent head CT and MRI in between January to April 2020. The brain scans were performed as the patients experienced altered mental state and focal neurologic deficits such as speech and vision problems.
Out of 81 patients, 18 had results that were considered an emergency or critical, including strokes, brain bleeds and blocked blood vessels. Half of the patients had pre-existing histories of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Three patients with critical results died during the treatment.
"Covid-19 is associated with neurologic manifestations, and hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus are common in individuals who develop these manifestations," IANS quoted Freeman as saying.
Based on the findings, the authors concluded that people with hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus may be at higher risk for neurologic complications and thus should be monitored closely.
Most of the patients with critical results in the study were African American and so the researchers suggest that these patients also may require closer monitoring.
Although the exact mechanisms for Covid-19's harmful neurological effects are not known, inflammation associated with the infection is believed to be the primary culprit.
Freeman explained that when your body is in an inflammatory state, it produces cytokines to help recruit the immune system to perform its function. But, if cytokines are overproduced, the immune response actually starts doing damage.
In the study, high blood markers of inflammation were found in patients with critical brain scan results.
One study published in Seizure: European Journal of Epilepsy had also warned that coronavirus infection may lead to permanent brain damage. A research team, including scientists from Baylor College of Medicine in the US, analysed more than 80 studies reporting coronavirus complications. They found that about one-third of COVID-19 patients have abnormalities in the frontal lobe of the brain. This brain damage may be the cause of neurological symptoms in the COVID-19 patients, the researchers noted.
A study published in the journal Annals of Neurology in June this year suggested that the COVID-19 virus can affect the entire nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and the muscles of infected individuals and cause neurological dysfunction.
It added that a SARS-COV-2 infection may show neurologic symptoms, like headaches, seizures, and strokes before any fever, cough or respiratory problems occur.
According to the researchers from Northwestern University in the US, the brain of the COVID-19 patient may suffer from a lack of oxygen, or clotting disorders that may lead to neurological dysfunction.
In addition, they said that the immune system response to the infection may cause inflammation that can damage the brain and nerves.
With inputs from agencies
