COVID-19 and Neurological Abnormalities: What you need to know
Brain's Frontal Lobes Electrical Activity Potentially Affected by COVID-19
Hold up, folks! Here's the lowdown on how the coronavirus can mess with your noggin.
Brainward Bugs with COVID-19
Got COVID-19? You might experience symptoms like headaches, confusion, seizures, and strokes, and there's a good chance that electroencephalography (EEG) tests will show some oddities in your brain waves. The stern folks at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh teamed up to dig into this brain business, checking out EEG results from a whopping 617 patients across 84 studies.
The average patient they looked at was 61 years old and two-thirds were guys—just the kind of folks who might be knocking back Monster Energy drinks and arguing about football stats while ignoring the pandemic.
Frequent Findings
So, what did these scholars find? Well, the most common EEG abnormalities were slow brain waves and funny electrical discharges. Surprise, surprise, the freakier the EEG, the sicker the patient tended to be, especially if they had issues like epilepsy to begin with.
Front and Center
You may be wondering, what's the deal with these abnormalities being centrally located in the front part of the brain? Dr. Zulfi Haneef, of Baylor College of Medicine, has an explanation: "The virus likely enters through the nose, which is smack dab next to the front part of the brain. This suggests we should be doing more EEG tests and brain imaging on a wider range of patients—not just the ones with obvious neurological problems."
Not Just the Virus
But here's the twist: it's possible that the virus isn't responsible for all the messed-up EEG results. System-wide effects of COVID-19, like inflammation, low oxygen levels, sticky blood, and heart attacks, might be playing a part, too.
Brain Fog and Long COVID
Some folks who've kicked COVID are still dealing with issues like what scientists are now calling "brain fog." One study (not yet published and you gotta take it with a grain of salt) found that these folks didn't perform as well on a cognitive test as those who'd never been infected.
Experts are unsure if the virus actually causes long-term cognitive decline, but they're concerned about long-term brain effects. Haneef adds, "These EEG findings only add fuel to those fears. A lot of people might think they'll get sick, get better, and then it's over. But these findings suggest there might be some serious long-term issues to reckon with."
The Silver Lining
On the bright side, about half of the patients who went in for a follow-up EEG test showed improvements.
Some Caveats
The researchers did point out a few limitations with their study, like the fact that they didn't have access to all the individual patient data and doctors might have skipped over some normal EEG results. They also gave anti-seizure meds to a bunch of patients, which could've covered up seizure signs on the EEG.
So, there you have it! COVID-19 can cause some brain-bending EEG abnormalities, particularly in the front part of your brain. Be on the lookout for long-term lingering effects—you never know what this virus might do to your noggin!
[1] Source: enrichment data related to executive functions and neuropsychiatric symptoms.
- In the wake of COVID-19, brain-related abnormalities such as headaches, confusion, seizures, and strokes have been reported, with EEG tests demonstrating unusual brain wave patterns.
- A study involving 617 patients revealed that the most common EEG abnormalities were slow brain waves and irregular electrical discharges, with more severe EEG abnormalities correlating with sicker patients, especially those with pre-existing neurological conditions like epilepsy.
- The coronavirus might not be solely responsible for these EEG abnormalities, as systemic effects of COVID-19, such as inflammation, low oxygen levels, and heart attacks, may also contribute.
- Long COVID patients have reported experiencing cognitive issues, referred to as "brain fog," and preliminary studies suggest they may underperform on cognitive tests compared to those without infection history.
- Despite some limitations in the study, long-term brain effects of COVID-19 are a cause for concern, as the EEG findings add to the growing fears about potential long-term issues arising from the virus.
