As the world witnesses an increase in brain-related disorders in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Pennsylvania State University has received a $1.6 million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and strokes in the United States to dig deeper and find the connection between the two.
The grant will support research into whether Covid-19 contributes to the development of cognitive decline which may be part of the chain of events leading to dementia.
“We have a unique opportunity to study whether Covid infection contributes to the progression of neurodegenerative diseases,” said Xuemei Huang, distinguished professor of neurology, pharmacology, neurosurgery, radiology and kinesiology at Penn State’s College of Medicine.
Parkinson’s disease and related disorders often lead to dementia in the end, and “we hope to better understand whether Covid-19 infection affects the process of neurocognitive decline in our research participants,” Huang said in a statement. communicated.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) epidemiologists estimate that just under a third of all Covid cases have occurred in people aged 50 and over.
This same group is also at increased risk of having or developing a neurodegenerative disease.
Covid patients often report neurological symptoms like memory problems, “brain fog” and loss of smell and taste – some symptoms lasting months following diagnosis.
Some research also suggests that these patients are at a higher risk of being diagnosed with dementia as a result of their acute infection.
These and other reports have led to scientific speculation that Covid-19 infections may contribute to premature cognitive decline, the researchers said.
Huang will lead a multidisciplinary team to collect additional information and biological samples from participants in their past and current studies.
The study will leverage resources from a multi-year, $3.8 million project that aims to identify biological signs (biomarkers) of Parkinson’s disease and related disorders through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans ) and to molecules in biological samples, including blood, skin, and cerebral spinal cord. fluid.
In the same way that loss of smell has signaled Covid-19 infection in some people, some scientists hypothesize that loss of smell also signals the onset of neurodegenerative processes that lead to both Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s.
This can arise from a person’s continued exposure to viruses and environmental toxicants that enter through the olfactory system (nose and nasal passages).
“We are still learning regarding the long-term effects of the pandemic and the effects on those who got sick,” Huang said.
“This research will increase our understanding of whether or not COVID-19 infection contributes to the development or progression of neurodegenerative diseases,” added the researcher.
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