And if the Covid, even in its mild forms, might be a source of degenerative brain disease… This is the worrying question posed by a recent English study. Researchers at the University of Oxford have demonstrated imaging abnormalities linked to a mild SARS COv2 infection.
This is a first major study on the issue since it screened nearly 800 patients. It made it possible to observe changes in a much more subtle and significant way than in previous studies.
Greater loss of gray matter, greater abnormalities in brain tissue, particularly in the olfactory areas, but also global changes in the brain, in particular a reduction in its size.
Palpable effects, since when carrying out cognitive tests, this greater decline was observed in patients who had these mild forms of Covid. They were much slower than the others in the tasks to be carried out.
From the age of 62, they needed 10 to 40% more time, because not everyone is affected in the same way.
According to this British study, brain changes are indeed more marked in older patients…
The causes of these anomalies have not yet been identified. Several hypotheses: the loss of smell might play a role in these changes or even the effect of the virus itself, either because it invades the brain, or because it causes neuro-inflammation or neuro- immune.
An optimistic view sometimes evokes improvement over time, but a more pessimistic view raises the possibility that in the long term, the effects of SARS COv2 contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias.
