Covid discovers US study associated with risk of developing Parkinson’s disease

A study conducted in mice found that SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic, may increase the risk of cerebral atrophy as seen in Parkinson’s disease.

In a new study published in the journal Movement Disorders, a novel coronavirus It can make the mouse brain more sensitive to the toxins that induce the loss of nerve cells found in Parkinson’s disease.

“Parkinson’s disease is a rare disease that affects 2% of the population over the age of 55, so increased risk is not necessarily the cause of panic,” said Richard Smine, director of Thomas Jefferson University in the United States. I am.

“But how do you understand coronavirus The effects on the brain help prepare for the long-term effects of this pandemic, “he added.

New discoveries are based on previous evidence that the virus can make brain cells and neurons vulnerable to damage and death.

In a previous study, researchers found that mice infected with the H1N1 strain of influenza that caused the 2009 influenza pandemic induce some of the characteristic functions of Parkinson’s disease. We have found that they are more sensitive to the toxin MPTP: they express chemical dopamine and increased inflammation mainly in the basal nucleus of the brain, a region of the brain that is important for neuronal loss movements.

Subsequent studies of humans have shown that influenza almost doubles the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease within 10 years of the initial infection.

In the current study, researchers used mice genetically engineered to express the human ACE-2 receptor that the SARS-CoV-2 virus uses to access cells in the respiratory tract. These mice were infected with SARS-CoV-2 and recovered.

One month after the surviving animals recovered, one group was injected with a low dose of MPTP, which usually does not cause neuronal loss. The control group was given saline. Two weeks later, the animal’s brain was examined.

Researchers have found that Covid-19 infection alone has no effect on dopaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia. However, mice given low doses of MPTP after recovery from infection showed the classic pattern of neuronal loss seen in Parkinson’s disease.

This increase in susceptibility after Covid-19 infection was similar to that seen in influenza studies. This suggests that both viruses may equally increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.

“Think about the” multi-hit “hypothesis of Parkinson’s disease. The virus itself does not kill neurons, but it makes it more susceptible to “second hits” such as toxins, bacteria, and even underlying genetic mutations. “Smine explained.

But “it’s too early to say if the same thing can be seen in humans,” he said.

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(Only the headings and images in this report may have been recreated by Business Standard staff. The rest of the content is automatically generated from the syndicated feed.)

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