An international consortium funded by the Alzheimer’s Disease Association studies the effects-ScienceDaily

A dementia researcher at the University of Texas at San Antonio Health Sciences Center (UT Health San Antonio) is the first senior author of the report, with co-authors from the Alzheimer’s Society in the United Kingdom and the University of Nottingham and the University of Leicester.

“Since the flu epidemic of 1917 and 1918, many flu-like illnesses have been associated with brain damage,” said lead author Gabriel A. Deeraskin, MD, Joe R. and Teresa Rosanolong. The professor said. UT Health San Antonio School of Medicine. “These respiratory viruses included H1N1 and SARS-CoV. The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is also known to affect the brain and nervous system.”

Dr. Deeraskin, a researcher at the Glenbigs Alzheimer’s Disease and Neurodegenerative Diseases Institute at UT Health San Antonio, said it is becoming clear that the damage caused by pandemics is not limited to acute effects such as hospital delirium. .. However, it will have chronic consequences that affect the quality of life and independence of many individuals.

The question is how much and what it looks like. Even mild COVID-19 infections can have adverse effects on the brain in the long run, Dr. de Erausquin said.

“As the Alzheimer’s disease and dementia article points out, the unrecognized history of these viruses in the last century suggests a strong association with brain disorders that affect memory and behavior.” Dr. Maria C. Carilo, Chief Scientific Officer of the Alzheimer’s Disease Association, said. And co-author of the treatise. “In this difficult time,” silver lining “by leveraging the global reach and reputation of the Alzheimer’s Society to bring together the research community and uncover the long-term effects of COVID-19 on the brain. Can be made. “

Urgently needed international research

The Alzheimer’s Association is an expert in more than 30 countries to understand how COVID-19 increases the risk, severity, pace and progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and psychiatric disorders including depression. We are funding the initial work of the consortium. Members of the consortium enroll study participants selected from a pool of millions of confirmed COVID-19 cases recorded in hospitals around the world. The second group of registrants consists of people participating in existing international research studies. Participants will be evaluated for various measures at the time of initial appointment and 6, 9, 18 months later. These measurements include cognitive, behavioral, and, if possible, magnetic resonance imaging measured brain volume.

Penetrate the brain

Coronavirus is known to invade cells via a receptor called ACE2. The highest concentration of ACE2 receptors is in the olfactory bulb, the brain structure involved in the sense of smell.

“The basic idea of ​​our research is that some of the respiratory viruses have an affinity for nervous system cells,” said Glenn Bigs, professor of neurology at UT Health San Antonio’s Long School of Medicine. Dr. Sudha Seshadri, MD, director and senior author, said. Laboratory. “Olfactory cells are very sensitive to viral invasion and are particularly targeted by SARS-CoV-2, so one of the prominent symptoms of COVID-19 is olfactory loss.”

The olfactory bulb connects to the hippocampus, the brain structure that primarily causes short-term memory.

“When the virus invades the brain, the traces of the virus reach the hippocampus almost straight,” said Dr. De Eraskin. “This is believed to be one of the causes of cognitive impairment observed in COVID-19 patients. It is also part of the reason why cognitive decline accelerates over time in sensitive individuals. It seems.”

The author points out that:

• Intranasal administration of SARS-CoV-2 to mice causes rapid infiltration into the brain.
• Headache, hypogeusia (decreased taste ability) and anosmia (loss of odor) appear to precede the onset of respiratory symptoms in the majority of affected patients.
• SARS-CoV-2 is found in the postmortem brain.
• Abnormal brain images that may be characterized by the appearance of lesions in various brain regions and the appearance of other abnormal brain changes that may affect clinical symptoms are available in COVID-19 worldwide. It has emerged as a major feature.
• Abnormal diagnostic imaging was seen in individuals whose only symptom was loss of smell.

This survey will collect information over the next few years. For the first series of evaluations, the first results are expected in early 2022. The consortium is supported by technical guidance from the World Health Organization.