COVID-19 can shrink the brain by so much

The KO blows from COVID-19 just keep coming. A new study shows that the virus is actually capable of shrinking people’s brains, speeding up a process that occurs naturally with aging.

Published in the journal Nature and conducted by Oxford University researchers, the study was conducted to examine the effects of COVID-19 on the brain and whether it would increase the likelihood of people developing dementia in the future.

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Photo by Samantha Gades via Unsplash

Bloomberg explains that the study looked at brain scans taken before the start of the pandemic and afterwards after contracting nearly half of the participants, most of whom were between the ages of 51 and 81.

The researchers were impressed by the results they found. Brains have the ability to heal themselves, a process known as neuroplasticity. Still, some subjects showed evidence of severe brain damage, with their scans showing a reduction in a variety of areas, including the one that processes smell. The scans of people with COVID-19 showed a 0.2% to 2% reduction in brain size compared to people who were not infected, while showing greater cognitive decline. For reference, the researchers said that a 0.2 reduction in brain size was barely noticeable in performance, but a 2% reduction was equivalent to the passage of 10 years. The older the infected patient, the greater the damage.

Unlike many respiratory viruses, the effects of COVID-19 extend beyond the lungs and respiratory system. Some of the most talked about side effects include brain fog, fatigue and symptoms of long-lived COVID-19, which can plague people for months after infection. The effects of the virus on the brain show a connection between these problems and are a testament to its indiscriminate symptoms.

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While helpful and necessary, the results of the study are alarming. They show that the medical community must learn to manage these symptoms and help a growing percentage of people who may start doing so in a few years, long after the pandemic is no longer a threat.