Researchers have observed cases of cerebral hemorrhages in several samples of human fetal tissue in which the Covid-19 virus was present.
infection by le Covid-19 can have many side effects. At the house of the pregnant womanshe may have an adverse effect on the brain of the fetus, according to a study published on January 16, 2023 in the scientific journal Brain.
“Maternal viral infection and immune response are known to increase the risk of impaired fetal brain developmentfind the authors in the research. Here, we report the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in first- and second-trimester fetal brain tissue in association with cortical hemorrhages.”
Over 21 months, between July 2020 and mid-April 2022, 661 human fetal tissue samples were collected in the UK. On macroscopic examination, researchers observed hemorrhages in the cortical tissue in 26 of the samples. Of these samples, 25 came fromvoluntary interruptions of pregnancy (no abnormalities recorded) and 1 was recorded as having trisomy 21, the researchers report. Virus was present in all haemorrhagic specimens.
“Although haemorrhages occasionally occur in developing brains, it is extremely unusual that there are as many cases over a period of 21 months”explained in a statementneurobiologist Katherine R Long of King’s College London in the UK, who participated in the study.
Due to maternal infection or immunity
As the authors point out, hemorrhages are linked to a reduction in the integrity of blood vessels. The cause is not “not clear”, they say in the statement, but it might be explained by “a direct consequence of the infection or an indirect consequence of the immune response kindergarten”.
The majority of hemorrhagic specimens were from fetal tissue donated between the end of the first and the beginning of the second trimester of gestation. This period is important in brain development in a human fetus, they recall. This is when the blood-brain barrier forms to protect the brain from foreign elements.
For Lucilla Poston CBE, Professor of Maternal and Fetal Health at King’s College London, who is not one of the authors, “We know that a severe viral infection can influence the fetal brain, but this important study is the first to suggest that it can occur in pregnancies affected by COVID infection. Whatever the cause (… ) this study highlights the need for pregnant women to to get vaccinated once morest COVID-19, thus avoiding complications for mother and baby.”
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