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A new study suggests that disrupted blood vessels and a hyperactive immune system may be the key drivers of particular long Covid symptoms.
A new study may have figured out the cause of ‘brain fog’ and cognitive decline in people suffering with long-term issues linked with having Covid-19.
The pandemic era may be just a memory for many, but a long-term syndrome has impacted some people who contracted the Covid-19 virus. While the majority of people who catch Covid-19 make a full recovery, it is estimated that 10pc of those who get the virus report symptoms that persist for more than 12 weeks – and far longer in certain cases.
These long-term symptoms have become known as long Covid. There have been more than 200 symptoms associated with this issue to date, but the most common symptoms are fatigue, shortness of breath and ‘brain fog’ – issues with memory and thinking clearly.
Previous studies suggest that roughly half of those who have long Covid report having symptoms associated with cognitive decline, but researchers from Trinity College Dublin and the FutureNeuro SFI Research Centre believe they may have found the cause of these brain fog symptoms – a disruption to blood vessel integrity in the brain.
In the new study published in Nature Neuroscience, the researchers claim to have found evidence of “leaky blood vessels” in patients reporting brain fog and cognitive decline, compared to patients suffering from long Covid but without the brain fog symptoms.
The research team used a novel form of MRI scan to show how long Covid can affect the brain’s delicate network of blood vessels. Prof Matthew Campbell of Trinity and a FutureNeuro principal investigator said leaky blood vessels and a “hyperactive immune system” may be the key drivers of brain fog in long Covid patients.
“This is critically important, as understanding the underlying cause of these conditions will allow us to develop targeted therapies for patients in the future.”
This project was initiated by a rapid response grant funded by Science Foundation Ireland in 2020, when the pandemic was being felt intensely around the world. It involved recruiting patients suffering from the effects of long Covid and patients who were hospitalised in St James’ Hospital.
Prof Colin Doherty of Trinity and a FutureNeuro principal investigator said the results of the study could change the landscape of “how we understand and treat post-viral neurological conditions”.
“It also confirms that the neurological symptoms of long Covid are measurable with real and demonstrable metabolic and vascular changes in the brain,” Doherty said.
Scientists in various organisations have been working to understand more about long Covid and its root causes. In 2021, research led by RCSI scientists suggested that blood clotting may be the root cause of this issue.
In 2022, researchers at APC Microbiome investigating long Covid found a potential link between the immune system and impaired metabolism.
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