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The new coronavirus can enter the brain through the nose
The neurological symptoms of the infected person are resolved
Science and Technology Journal (Reporter Zhang Mengran) According to a new study published on the 3rd in the British journal Nature Neuroscience, the new coronavirus can enter the human brain through the nose. This discovery may help explain some of the neurological symptoms seen in people infected with the new coronavirus and provide a reference for diagnosis and preventive measures for infection.
The new coronavirus not only affects the respiratory tract, but also the central nervous system, causing the infected person to present neurological symptoms such as loss of smell, taste, headache, fatigue and nausea. Although the latest research has found viral RNA in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid, the question of how the virus enters and how it is distributed in the brain remains unclear.
In light of this, Frank Heppner, a scientist at the Charité University School of Medicine in Berlin, Germany, and his colleagues studied the brain and nasopharynx (upper half of the throat) of 33 patients (22 men and 11 women) who died of new coronavirus infections. Part, connected to the nasal cavity), this may be where the virus infects and replicates for the first time. At the time of death for these infected people, the mean age was 71.6 years and the median days between the onset of symptoms of the new coronavirus infection and death was 31 days.
The research team found the RNA and protein of the new coronavirus in the brain and nasopharynx, and also detected whole virus particles in the nasopharynx. Among them, the level of viral RNA found in the olfactory mucosa was the highest. They noted that the course of the disease is negatively correlated with the virus content detected, indicating that the shorter the course of the disease, the higher the level of new coronavirus RNA found in their bodies.
Researchers have also discovered novel coronavirus spike proteins in specific cell types of the olfactory mucosa, which use the endothelium and adjacent nerve tissue to enter the brain. They found the novel coronavirus spike protein in some infected cells that express neuronal markers, indicating that olfactory sensory neurons may be infected; The novel coronavirus spike protein was also found in the area of the brain that receives smell and taste signals. The new coronavirus has also been found in other areas of the nervous system, including the brainstem, the main center of respiratory and cardiovascular control of the brain.
The researchers said research on the novel coronavirus infection containing multiple samples is still needed to determine the exact mechanism the virus mediates to enter the brain and find other possible routes of invasion.
