As the novel coronavirus keeps on spreading across the world, scientists keep on searching to know as much as possible about the virus and its consequences in humans. According to a recent British study released on July 8 in the specialized Brain journal, Covid-19 could lead to very severe brain issues such as cerebrovascular accident, delirium, or nerve damage. Severe consequences that seem to grow more common than searchers thought.
If some of them already highlighted nerve complications may appear in some cases showing severe Covid-19 infections, this new British study reveals these complications can also be noticed in cases showing mild symptoms.
To get to these results, the team of searchers relied on 43 cases hospitalized for confirmed or suspected Covid-19. They have studied neurologic symptoms of each case. At the end of the day, among the 34 patients, scientists diagnosed ten cases of temporary brain dysfunction, twelve cases of brain inflammation, eight cases of strokes, and eight others with nerve damage.
“We identified a higher than expected number of people with neurological conditions such as brain inflammation, which did not always correlate with the severity of respiratory symptoms” Dr. Michael Zandi (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) said.
“Given that the disease has only been around for a matter of months, we might not yet know what long-term damage Covid-19 can cause” Dr. Ross Paterson (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) said. “Doctors need to be aware of possible neurological effects, as early diagnosis can improve patient outcomes”.
Fore the record, as of today, over 12 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus in the world.
