Neurocognitive symptoms last 6 months after infection with long COVID

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), long-distance transporters of COVID-19 suffer from symptoms such as body pain, malaise, shortness of breath, headaches, loss of concentration, loss of taste and smell, and other health problems. Those who will experience it long after. Negative for virus test. This can be defined as severe and long-term symptoms 3 months after Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

Compare the symptoms of long-distance COVID-19 with those of myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome

Researchers at DePaul University recently reported that patients with long-distance COVID-19 may experience neurocognitive symptoms that worsen over time as they continue to recover from COVID-19. Psychologist Leonard A. Jason led the study comparing patients with long-distance COVID-19 with patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME / CFS).

By comparing long-distance COVID-19 with other chronic illnesses, researchers sought to uncover the root cause of long-term illness after COVID-19 and signal an approach to care. Some other symptoms of long-distance COVID-19 seem to improve over time, but this is not the same as the experience with ME / CFS. The study is published in the journal “Fatigue: biomedicine, health and behavior.. “

“The most common symptomatology for COVID-19 long-haul carriers is sometimes referred to as” brain fog. ” People are having a hard time solving problems or getting into a car and forgetting where to go. “

The researchers investigated the symptoms of 278 long-distance COVID-19 patients at two time points at 6-month intervals. A total of 502 ME / CFS patients were also investigated for symptoms that significantly overlapped with COVID-19 symptoms. They used DePaulSymptomQuestionnaire, a self-reported measurement tool originally developed for use among ME / CFS patients.

Neurocognitive symptoms of long-distance COVID-19 are less severe than those seen with ME / CFS

The results showed that at 6 months, people with long-distance COVID-19 reported worse neurocognitive symptoms compared to those at the beginning of the illness. Neurocognitive symptoms included out-of-focus, difficulty in forming words, and absent-mindedness. These symptoms were ranked less severe than those seen with ME / CFS.

In COVID-19 long-haul carriers, many other symptoms appear to improve over time, including immune-related problems, sleep problems, gastrointestinal problems, and pain. The most serious symptom for patients with long-distance COVID-19 and ME / CFS was post-exercise malaise, and the patients felt physically and mentally exhausted.

According to the literature, past epidemics also caused long-term fatigue in patients.

Researchers believe that the results of this study may provide other researchers with valuable insights into the pathophysiology of the nervous system, including those found in ME / CFS patients. ME / CFS has many triggers, including the Epstein-Barr virus, but some patients do not know what caused the disease. However, in patients with long-distance COVID-19, it is clear that the first cause of their symptoms is a single virus. Both of these patient groups face similar challenges because families and healthcare professionals may not fully understand the patterns of persistent symptoms.

Researchers estimated that about 10% of COVID-19 patients would be long-distance infected. Data from the literature show that even past epidemics, such as the 1918 pandemic, have caused many long-term fatigue in patients.

“Given that millions of people are infected, these types of serious neurocognitive complications are incredible.”