How COVID Might Sow Chaos in the Brain
SARS-CoV-2 appears to travel widely across the cerebral cortex
Headaches, hallucinations, vivid dreams, smell & taste anomalies, strokes and seizures
80% of COVID patients encountered neurological complications
“The widespread 🧠 neuro issues I’m witnessing can’t be overstated; a tipping point of previously healthy adults into early Parkinson’s/ GBS/ dementia/ ALS/ serious 👁️ issues/ strokes/ tremors/ vertigo / intractable anosmia & tinnitus etc
An unparalleled horror show & crime.”
"Widespread use of metal caused estimated 2- to 3-point drop in IQ for nearly 180 years of Pax Romana"
Meanwhile, #Covid in 5 years: "Participants with persistent symptoms had a 6-point loss in IQ, while those who had been admitted to an ICU experienced a 9-point loss in IQ."
“COVID-19 may Enduringly Impact cognitive performance and brain haemodynamics in undergraduate students”
“37 % of the undergraduates exhibited impaired cognition up to 17 months post-infection.”
SARS-CoV-2 and HSV-1 induce amyloid aggregation, depleting soluble proteins.
Suggests a link between viral infections and neurodegenerative diseases via protein loss.
“SARS-CoV-2 may infect CNS, affecting microglia and brain cells. • Neuroinflammation from SARS-CoV-2 could lead to long COVID memory issues.”
Evidence that a COVID-19 infection can induce neurological sequelae.
The SARSCoV2 spike protein can persist in the brain—skull bone marrow and meninges—to induce neurologic damage
SARS-CoV-2 spike protein accumulates & persists in the body for years after infection, especially in the skull-meninges-brain axis, potentially driving long COVID. mRNA vaccines help but cannot stop it.
In mice, it caused inflammation, anxiety, and worsened brain injuries. Vaccines reduced but did not fully eliminate it.
SARS-CoV-2 can enter human motor neurons primarily through the receptors CD147 and NRP1.
The infection alters the expression of several genes involved in cell survival, metabolism, inflammatory response, and antiviral pathways.
“Cognitive deficits after COVID-19 associated with brain injury biomarkers and volume loss”
The study found that patients hospitalized with COVID-19, both with and without acute neurological complications, had worse cognitive scores than expected for their age, sex, and education level. These cognitive deficits were observed across all cognitive domains tested. The cognitive impairment was associated with increased levels of brain injury biomarkers in the blood and reduced volume of a specific brain region (the anterior cingulate cortex) on MRI scans. Factors like the severity of the initial COVID-19 illness and the presence of acute confusion (encephalopathy) were linked to the worst cognitive scores.
“Honestly it kinda pisses me off how some people act like we can't talk about the brain damage from Covid, especially on the population level. Yes, it's important to consider the ableism. But I have brain damage from Covid, including to my emotions, and we need to talk about it...”
SARS-CoV-2 infects neurons using cathepsins, causing tau changes linked to Alzheimer’s and neuron death within days
This suggests neurodegenerative risks and potential for cathepsin inhibitors as treatment
“The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 presents a wide spectrum of neurological manifestations."
"Although there is an improvement in the survival rate of patients with COVID-19, the frequency of neurological manifestations increases."
"The occurrence of delirium, cerebrovascular diseases, and ischemic stroke results in higher mortality."
