Dublin, Feb 22 (IANS) In a major discovery, a team of scientists discovered disruption to the blood vessels in the brains of patients suffering from Long Covid and ‘brain fog’.
The team from Trinity College Dublin showed that this blood vessel “leakiness” was able to objectively distinguish those patients with brain fog and cognitive decline compared to patients suffering from Long Covid but not with brain fog.
They also uncovered a novel form of MRI scan that shows how Long Covid can affect the human brain’s delicate network of blood vessels.
The findings were reported in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
“For the first time, we have been able to show that leaky blood vessels in the human brain, in tandem with a hyperactive immune system may be the key drivers of brain fog associated with Long Covid This is critically important, as understanding the underlying cause of these conditions will allow us to develop targeted therapies for patients in the future,” said Prof. Matthew Campbell, Professor in Genetics and Head of Genetics at Trinity.
“The findings will now likely change the landscape of how we understand and treat post-viral neurological conditions. It also confirms that the neurological symptoms of Long Covid are measurable with real and demonstrable metabolic and vascular changes in the brain,” added Prof. Colin Doherty, Professor of Neurology and Head of the School of Medicine at Trinity.
In recent years, it has become apparent that many neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS) likely have a viral infection as the initiating event that triggers the pathology.
However, proving that direct link has always been challenging.
“The concept that many other viral infections that lead to post-viral syndromes might drive blood vessel leakage in the brain is potentially game changing and is under active investigation by the team,” Prof. Campbell said.
Long Covid has now become a major public health issue since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020. While international incidence rates vary, it is estimated to affect up to 10 per cent of patients infected with the SARS-CoV2 virus.
Of these patients suffering from Long Covid, just under 50 per cent of them report some form of lingering neurological effect such as cognitive decline, fatigue, and brain fog. Long Covid has up to 200 reported symptoms to date, but in general, patients report lingering symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, problems with memory and thinking, and joint/muscle pain.
–IANS
rvt/vd
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
