Long COVID can affect 3/10 people who have COVID-19. Over three-quarters of people with the condition report cognitive or neurological symptoms for months after infection, and many find them debilitating, according to recent studies. Some researchers are coining the condition “neuro-COVIDTrusted Source” to describe this presentation of the disease.
However, despite some recognition of the prevalence of these conditions, treating patients with these symptoms has proved challenging due to little understanding of their cause. Now, a study published in Nature CommunicationsTrusted Source on the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the brains of primates has revealed parallels with studies carried out on human autopsies.
Researchers infected 4 Rhesus Macaques and 4 African Green Monkeys with SARS-CoV-2. Two additional animals of each species were selected to act as age-matched controls. Autopsies of their brains sampled tissues from seven regions including frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes, basal ganglia, cerebellum, and brainstem.
Neuroinflammation was found to be greater in the primates with SARS-CoV-2 infection than in the controls. Researchers also discovered significantly more cell death, microhemorrhages, and signs of lack of oxygen to the brain in the monkeys that had been infected with SARS-CoV-2.
Sursa: Medicalnewstoday