Washington: Daniel Martins-de-Souza and colleagues used MRI to compare brain structure in 81 study participants recovering from a mild COVID-19 infection and 81 healthy individuals. The authors found that the former group exhibited reduced cortical thickness, which was correlated with cognitive impairments and symptoms such as anxiety and depression.
The authors analyzed brain samples from 26 people who had died of COVID-19, finding that samples from five of these individuals exhibited tissue damage.
Further analysis of damaged brain samples revealed that astrocytes, which are brain cells that sustain neuronal metabolism, were particularly likely to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 and that the virus enters these cells through the NRP1 receptor.
Fatigue and headache most common lasting symptoms months after COVID-19, reveals study
New research calls for a universal vaccination to stop future COVID-19 waves
Once infected, astrocytes exhibited altered levels of metabolites used to fuel neurons and neurotransmitter production, and the infected cells secreted neurotoxic molecules. According to the authors, the findings uncover structural changes observed in the brains of people with COVID-19.
The significance of the study denotes the neurological symptoms that are among the most prevalent of the extrapulmonary complications of COVID-19, affecting more than 30 per cent of patients. In this study, we provide evidence that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is found in the human brain, where it infects astrocytes and to a lesser extent, neurons.