Effect of covid on the brain

Effect of covid on the brain

When the covid pandemic started in Wuhan, China, the media and everyone believed that it is a respiratory disease affecting the lungs causing shortness of breath. With time, more covid patients have shown symptoms of other body systems that have been affected by the virus. The nervous system and neurological systems of the body seem to be affected too. Some patients who have suffered from covid seem to have adverse effects on their brains by causing injury. However, some patients may recover from the disease but later develop cognitive issues. Covid virus directly infects the brain’s neural cells, where it replicates and affects how the brain function. When this happens, patients might develop cognitive problems or persistent seizures.

Covid can also affect the brain by damaging the nervous system through widespread inflammation when the body’s immune system responds. Brain inflammation can also lead to blood clots, which can affect the brain’s normal functioning since it functions at a lower rate. Patients can also suffer from a stroke, which deprives the brain of oxygen. When the inflammation persists, the patient’s body reacts by causing a blood-brain barrier that allows more viruses to the brain, severely damaging. Some patients have developed Guillain barre syndrome, where the body’s immune system affects the nerves leading to paralysis—most patients affected by all these symptoms of memory problems and dizziness. Therefore, neurologists should study covid patients to ensure that their nervous systems recover fully. Cognitive assessments should be done so that neurological treatment is administered to the patients and MRI scans done to avoid brain damage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Melinda Wenner Moyer 26th June 2020, Can Covid Damage the Brain? ( Article) retrieve from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/opinion/coronavirus-brain-damage-dementia.html assessed on 22nd September 2020.