Posted on Nov 13, 2023
Pain, fatigue, fuzzy thinking: How long COVID disrupts the brain
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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/11/13/ [login to see] /pain-fatigue-brain-fog-long-covid-neurological-effects
Michelle Wilson got COVID three years ago. She's still waiting for her brain and nervous system to recover.
Wilson's memory is spotty, she's frequently in pain, and even a short walk leaves her exhausted.
"I actually bought a cane that turns into a seat so I can go to the botanical garden," she says.
It's a big change for Wilson, 66, who had worked as a nurse at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. But after years of waiting to get better, she says she's realized something:
"This might be as good as it gets."
It's a story shared by a growing number of COVID "long-haulers" — those patients who suffer from persistent symptoms long after the initial infection has passed. Many of those symptoms, experts say, appear to be tied to COVID's effects on the brain and nervous system.
Michelle Wilson got COVID three years ago. She's still waiting for her brain and nervous system to recover.
Wilson's memory is spotty, she's frequently in pain, and even a short walk leaves her exhausted.
"I actually bought a cane that turns into a seat so I can go to the botanical garden," she says.
It's a big change for Wilson, 66, who had worked as a nurse at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. But after years of waiting to get better, she says she's realized something:
"This might be as good as it gets."
It's a story shared by a growing number of COVID "long-haulers" — those patients who suffer from persistent symptoms long after the initial infection has passed. Many of those symptoms, experts say, appear to be tied to COVID's effects on the brain and nervous system.
Pain, fatigue, fuzzy thinking: How long COVID disrupts the brain
Posted from npr.org
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
...""Those animals have cognitive deficits a month after they were infected," Klein says. "They no longer have virus, they're no longer ill. But they can't remember and recognize things."
One reason may be that the infection weakens the blood-brain barrier in these animals, Klein says, allowing the body's immune response to affect brain cells.
The result is inflammation that causes subtle but significant changes in the brain.
"It's not like there's a multitude of dying neurons," Klein says. "What there is, is elimination of the connections between neurons."
Klein suspects that something similar is happening to the synaptic connections in the brains of people who get long COVID. And she says it appears this can happen even in people who don't get very sick.
"You and I may handle viruses differently," she says. "I may end up getting more inflammation in my brain than you because we have a different genetic makeup."
One way to protect the brain after an infection may be with drugs that reduce inflammation — and studies to test that idea are already underway. In the meantime, vaccination offers a way for people to reduce their risk of developing long COVID.
Michelle Wilson, though, got infected before vaccination was an option. And she'd like a treatment that can undo what COVID has done to her brain.
"We don't know everything about COVID yet," she says, "So I have hope."
...""Those animals have cognitive deficits a month after they were infected," Klein says. "They no longer have virus, they're no longer ill. But they can't remember and recognize things."
One reason may be that the infection weakens the blood-brain barrier in these animals, Klein says, allowing the body's immune response to affect brain cells.
The result is inflammation that causes subtle but significant changes in the brain.
"It's not like there's a multitude of dying neurons," Klein says. "What there is, is elimination of the connections between neurons."
Klein suspects that something similar is happening to the synaptic connections in the brains of people who get long COVID. And she says it appears this can happen even in people who don't get very sick.
"You and I may handle viruses differently," she says. "I may end up getting more inflammation in my brain than you because we have a different genetic makeup."
One way to protect the brain after an infection may be with drugs that reduce inflammation — and studies to test that idea are already underway. In the meantime, vaccination offers a way for people to reduce their risk of developing long COVID.
Michelle Wilson, though, got infected before vaccination was an option. And she'd like a treatment that can undo what COVID has done to her brain.
"We don't know everything about COVID yet," she says, "So I have hope."
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