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A study of more than 70 Brazilian researchers indicates that the new coronavirus can affect the brain and cause neuron death, even in people who have mild symptoms and that they have not needed hospital treatment.
The research, published Tuesday on the scientific platform medRxiv, but is still under evaluation, indicates that the virus may promote significant changes in the structure of the cortex, the region of the brain richest in neurons and responsible for complex functions such as memory, attention, consciousness and language.
“Patients with Covid-19 can have neuropsychiatric and / or neurological symptoms. We found that anxiety and cognitive impairment are manifested in 28-56% of the individuals infected by SARS-CoV-2 with mild respiratory symptoms or without respiratory symptoms and are associated with alteration of the cerebral cortical thickness “, says the study, coordinated by researchers from the State University. Campinas (Unicamp) and the University of São Paulo (USP).
The research also found brain damage in 19% of people who died of Covid-19 and were under analysis.
According to researchers, when the new coronavirus enters the brain attacks cells responsible for metabolic processes, hampering the energy production and nutrition of neurons and, consequently, can lead to the death of brain tissue.
All affected brain tissues exhibited sources of SARS-CoV-2 infection, particularly in astrocytes. [células mais abundantes do sistema nervoso central]. The infection of astrocytes derived from neural stem cells altered energy metabolism, altered key proteins and metabolites used to feed neurons (…) and triggered a secretory phenotype that reduces neuronal viability ”.
“Our data support the model in which SARS-CoV-2 reaches the brain, infects astrocytes, and triggers neuropathological changes that contribute to structural and functional changes in the brain of patients with Covid-19 ″, highlights the document published in medRxiv.
Speaking to the G1 news portal, Clarissa Lin Yasuda, one of the study coordinators, stated that they found many patients who, even already cured of Covid-19 about two months ago, they continued to show neurological symptoms, such as severe headaches, excessive sleepiness, impaired memory, in addition to loss of smell and taste.
“In some rare cases, even seizures, and these patients had never felt this before ”, emphasized the researcher.
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The study also points to evidence that the path to the brain is through the nose.
The research analyzed magnetic resonance images in mild patients, who had not yet required hospitalization, which showed a significant reduction in the cerebral cortex in some regions close to the airways, in the so-called orbitofrontal region, verifying that these are changes in the brain structure.
Clarissa Lin Yasuda also stated that The virus is suspected of activating genetic diseases such as schizophrenia, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
“What we still do not know the severity of these injuries, if they are transitory or if they can be irreversible, then we will follow these patients for the next three years to find out if the virus triggers degenerative diseases in those with some genetic potential ”, explained the researcher to G1.
Brazil is the Portuguese-speaking country most affected by the pandemic and one of the most affected in the world, accounting for the second number of deaths (more than 5.1 million cases and 151,747 deaths), after the United States.
The Covid-19 pandemic has already claimed more than one million eighty-seven thousand deaths and more than 38.2 million cases of contagion worldwide, according to a report prepared by the French agency AFP.
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