A new study has revealed that damage to the brainstem, the brain’s ‘control centre’, is behind serious long-term physical and mental effects. COVID-19 Infection. The study was conducted by researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford and published in the journal Brain.

For the study, researchers used ultra-high-resolution scanners that can closely observe living brains to observe the damaging effects of COVID-19 in the brains of 30 people who were diagnosed with the disease in the early stages. Was admitted to hospital with severe infection. pandemic.

Severe COVID-19 infection can cause long-lasting physical and mental effects, also known as “long COVID.” Physically, people may experience persistent fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, and muscle weakness, which may persist for months. In severe cases the lungs, heart and kidneys may also be damaged, leading to complications such as pulmonary fibrosis or heart failure.

On the other hand, neurological symptoms such as headaches and difficulty concentrating (brain fog) are common. On a psychological level, many patients may report anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to the trauma of hospitalization, isolation, and the impact of the illness on daily life.

The study revealed how SARS-CoV-2 affects areas of the brain associated with shortness of breath, fatigue and anxiety. Professor James Rowe, from the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, who co-led the research, said: “The brainstem is the vital junction box between our consciousness and what is happening in our body.

“The ability to observe and understand how brain mechanisms change in response to COVID will help to more effectively understand and treat long-term effects.”

Fatigue, shortness of breath and chest pain were long-term, troubling symptoms among many patients hospitalized at the beginning of the pandemic. The team hypothesized that these symptoms were partly the result of damage to key brainstem nuclei, which persists long after the infection has passed.

The study found that several areas of the brainstem; The medulla oblongata, pons, and midbrain showed abnormalities consistent with a neuroinflammatory response.

These appeared several weeks after hospitalization and in brain areas responsible for controlling breathing. Changes in the brainstem were also linked to increased depression and anxiety in COVID-19 survivors.

Dr Catarina Rua, from the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, said the effects “above the effects of age and gender, and are more pronounced in people who have had severe COVID-19.” The researchers said the results could also help understand other conditions associated with brainstem inflammation, such as multiple sclerosis and dementia.

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