Brain's frontal lobes may experience electrical disruptions due to COVID-19 infection
Revamped Review:
COVID-19 brain damage is a concerning yet growing area of research, as recent findings suggest links between the virus and abnormal electrical activities in the brain. A review of research, focusing on EEG tests conducted on patients with neurological symptoms associated with COVID-19, reveals that the frontal lobes are often affected.
This review, published in the journal Seizure: European Journal of Epilepsy, examined EEG results from 617 patients collected from 84 different studies. The majority of patients were males aged 61.3 years, and abnormalities were commonly found in the form of slowing brain waves and unusual electrical discharges.
Dr. Zulfi Haneef, co-author of the study and an assistant professor of neurology/neurophysiology at Baylor College of Medicine, explains, "There seems to be a connection between the part of the brain that's located directly next to the virus's most likely entry point - the nose."
Although the virus may not be the sole culprit of all brain damage, other systemic effects of the infection, such as inflammation, low oxygen levels, and cardiac arrest, may contribute to EEG abnormalities beyond the frontal lobes.
Aside from the neurological symptoms posed by COVID-19, some patients experience lingering health issues post-recovery, known as long COVID. Among these is "brain fog." A recent, yet unpublished study suggests that individuals who claim to have had COVID-19 may experience cognitive decline, similar to aging by a decade.
Similar concerns about the infection's lasting effects on the brain are highlighted by the EEG abnormalities found in COVID-19 patients. Dr. Haneef puts it bluntly, "There might be long-term issues, which we've suspected, and now we have more evidence to back that up."
On a positive note, 56.8% of patients who underwent follow-up EEG tests demonstrated improvements. Despite the study's limitations, such as access to individual raw data and potential biases in reporting, the findings underscore the importance of further investigating the impacts of COVID-19 on the brain.
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[1] Neurocognitive Deficits in COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review [2] COVID-19 and the Brain: Understanding Potential Risk Factors and Molecular Pathways [3] Can EEG Provide Insights into COVID-19 Brain Function? [4] Long-Term Neurological and Cognitive Effects of COVID-19: Evidence and Implications.
- The coronavirus has been linked to abnormal electrical activities in the brain, particularly in the frontal lobes, as suggested by the findings from a study focusing on EEG tests.
- Epilepsy seizures and other mental health issues, including brain fog, have been reported among patients long after recovering from COVID-19, with some research pointing towards cognitive decline similar to aging by a decade.
- science has been dedicated to understanding the implications of these neurological disorders and cognitive declines on health-and-wellness, with ongoing research into the long-term neurological effects of COVID-19.
- The study of neurological-disorders associated with COVID-19 is a growing area of concern in the medical-conditions field, with ongoing investigations aiming to uncover the molecular pathways and risk factors that contribute to these conditions.
