Blood supply disruption: Long Covid brain fog likely resolved

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The research group, led by Matthew Campbell of Trinity College Dublin and Colin Doherty of St James’s Hospital in Dublin (Ireland), reported that blood vessels become more permeable and less able to protect the brain from pathogens, toxins and other substances in the blood. specialist journal “Nature Neuroscience”.

“For the first time, we have shown that leaky blood vessels in the human brain, together with a hyperactive immune system, may be the primary cause of Long Covid-related brain fog,” Campbell explained.

He and his colleagues began investigating this form of confusion, also known as brain fog, by analyzing blood samples from 76 Covid patients at St James’s Hospital in the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak in March and April 2020. Among other things, they found increased levels of the S100-beta protein, an indicator of a disrupted blood-brain barrier.

Weakening of the brain’s protective system

The boundary between the blood circulation and the central nervous system is called the blood-brain barrier. Thanks to special cells located outside the vascular wall, only certain substances can pass into the brain. This protects the brain from harmful substances and pathogens. When the blood-brain barrier is broken, substances that would normally be protected enter the brain.

Researchers have not yet elucidated the exact mechanism of the weakening of this system. They also made visible the disruption in the blood-brain barrier using imaging techniques. To do this, they used a special type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), dynamic contrast-based perfusion MRI. What is measured is the way the contrast material flows through the tissue. Special MRI images show that more contrast material enters the brain tissue outside the capillaries in patients with brain fog.

Similar to other neurological diseases

Campbell, Doherty and their colleagues believe that coronavirus is not the only viral infection that damages the brain in this way. “The results are now likely to change the way we understand and treat post-viral neurological diseases,” Doherty said.

According to the statement made by Trinity College, in recent years it has been shown that a viral infection is the likely triggering factor in many neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The study authors are currently examining in more detail how the blood-brain barrier plays a role in this.

A coronavirus infection can cause permanent health problems, for which the term Long Covid has become established. Symptoms include fatigue, dizziness and concentration problems. (SDA)

Source : Blick