How Covid-19 might increase risk of memory loss and cognitive decline
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Of all frightening ways that the SARS-COV-2 virus affects the body, one of the more insidious is the effect of Covid-19 on the brain.
It is now clear that many patients suffering from Covid-19 exhibit neurological symptoms, from loss of smell, to delirium, to an increased risk of stroke. There are also longer-lasting consequences for the brain, including myalgic encephalomyelitis /chronic fatigue syndrome and Guillain-Barre syndrome.
These effects may be caused by direct viral infection of brain tissue. But growing evidence suggests additional indirect actions triggered via the virus’s infection of epithelial cells and the cardiovascular system, or through the immune system and inflammation, contribute to lasting neurological changes after Covid-19.
I am a neuroscientist specialising in how memories are formed, the role of immune cells in the brain and how memory is persistently disrupted after illness and immune activation. As I survey the emerging scientific literature, my question is: Will there be a Covid-19-related wave of memory deficits, cognitive decline and dementia cases in the future?
The immune system and the brain
Many of the symptoms we attribute to an infection are really due to the protective responses of the immune system. A runny nose during a cold is not a direct effect of the virus, but a result of the immune system’s response to the cold virus.
This is also true when it comes to feeling sick. The general malaise, tiredness, fever and social withdrawal are caused by activation of specialised immune cells in the brain, called neuroimmune cells, and signals in the brain.
These changes in brain and behaviour, although annoying for our everyday lives, are highly adaptive and immensely beneficial. By resting, you allow the energy-demanding immune response to do its thing. A fever makes the body less hospitable to viruses and increases the efficiency of the immune system. Social withdrawal may help decrease spread of the virus.
In addition to changing behaviour and regulating physiological responses during illness, the specialised immune system in the brain also plays a number of other roles. It has recently become clear that the neuroimmune cells that sit at the connections between brain cells (synapses), which provide energy and minute quantities of inflammatory signals, are essential for normal memory formation.
Unfortunately, this also provides a way in which illnesses like Covid-19 can cause both acute neurological symptoms and long-lasting issues in the brain.
During illness and inflammation, the specialised immune ...
It is now clear that many patients suffering from Covid-19 exhibit neurological symptoms, from loss of smell, to delirium, to an increased risk of stroke. There are also longer-lasting consequences for the brain, including myalgic encephalomyelitis /chronic fatigue syndrome and Guillain-Barre syndrome.
These effects may be caused by direct viral infection of brain tissue. But growing evidence suggests additional indirect actions triggered via the virus’s infection of epithelial cells and the cardiovascular system, or through the immune system and inflammation, contribute to lasting neurological changes after Covid-19.
I am a neuroscientist specialising in how memories are formed, the role of immune cells in the brain and how memory is persistently disrupted after illness and immune activation. As I survey the emerging scientific literature, my question is: Will there be a Covid-19-related wave of memory deficits, cognitive decline and dementia cases in the future?
The immune system and the brain
Many of the symptoms we attribute to an infection are really due to the protective responses of the immune system. A runny nose during a cold is not a direct effect of the virus, but a result of the immune system’s response to the cold virus.
This is also true when it comes to feeling sick. The general malaise, tiredness, fever and social withdrawal are caused by activation of specialised immune cells in the brain, called neuroimmune cells, and signals in the brain.
These changes in brain and behaviour, although annoying for our everyday lives, are highly adaptive and immensely beneficial. By resting, you allow the energy-demanding immune response to do its thing. A fever makes the body less hospitable to viruses and increases the efficiency of the immune system. Social withdrawal may help decrease spread of the virus.
In addition to changing behaviour and regulating physiological responses during illness, the specialised immune system in the brain also plays a number of other roles. It has recently become clear that the neuroimmune cells that sit at the connections between brain cells (synapses), which provide energy and minute quantities of inflammatory signals, are essential for normal memory formation.
Unfortunately, this also provides a way in which illnesses like Covid-19 can cause both acute neurological symptoms and long-lasting issues in the brain.
During illness and inflammation, the specialised immune ...
