COVID-19 Likely to Impact Brain, San Antonio Researchers Find

SAINT ANTHONY – The coronavirus pandemic has been raging on the planet for almost a year and researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio Health Sciences Center are currently studying the impact of COVID-19 on the brain.

Dementia researchers from UT Health contributed to the report, including lead author Gabriel A. de Erausquin who said: “Since the influenza pandemic of 1917 and 1918, many influenza illnesses have occurred. been associated with brain disorders.

According to de Erausquin, “These respiratory viruses included H1N1 and SARS-CoV. The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, is also known to impact the brain and nervous system. “

Funding for this new research is provided by the Alzheimer’s Association, which helps bring together data from more than 30 countries “to understand how COVID-19 increases the risk, severity, rate, and progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and psychiatric illnesses, including depression. ”, A version of the UT Health reports.

Researchers have already found that the coronavirus enters cell receptors called ACE2, the highest concentration of which can be found in the olfactory bulb of the brain which is linked to the smell of people.

“Odor cells are very sensitive to viral invasion and are particularly targeted by SARS-CoV-2, and that is why one of the main symptoms of COVID-19 is loss of smell,” Sudha said. Seshadri, another researcher at UT Health.

The olfactory bulb connects to the hippocampus of the brain, which is primarily responsible for short-term memory.

“The trail of the virus, when it invades the brain, leads almost directly to the hippocampus,” said de Erausquin. “This is believed to be one of the sources of the cognitive impairment seen in patients with COVID-19. We suspect that this may also partly explain why there will be an accelerated cognitive decline over time in susceptible individuals.

The researchers also found that SARS-CoV-2 can be found in the brain after the death of patients and that abnormal brain imaging, sometimes characterized by lesions in different areas of the brain, “has emerged as a major feature of the brain. COVID-19 from all parts of the world. “

UT Health officials said researchers will continue to collect information over the next 2-3 years and expect initial results in early 2022. The World Health Organization is also helping to guide the research. study.

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