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Long Covid Alters Brains Like Alzheimer's, Study Finds
10 Feb
Summary
- Long Covid patients showed a 10% larger choroid plexus than recovered individuals.
- Larger choroid plexus correlated with worse performance on cognitive tests.
- Elevated Alzheimer's-associated proteins found in Long Covid patients.
New research from NYU Langone Hospital indicates that Long Covid might induce brain alterations comparable to those observed in Alzheimer's patients. The study focused on the choroid plexus (CP), a blood vessel network crucial for cerebrospinal fluid production and brain barrier function.
Scientists discovered that individuals with Long Covid exhibited a 10% larger CP compared to those who had fully recovered. This enlargement was associated with a two percent decrease in performance on the mini-mental state examination, which assesses memory and attention.
Additionally, the research, published in Alzheimer's & Dementia, identified a correlation between increased CP size and higher blood levels of proteins like pTau217 and glial fibrillary acidic protein, markers often seen in Alzheimer's disease and brain injury, respectively.
Professor Yulin Ge stated that these findings suggest long-term immune reactions post-Covid could lead to swelling that damages the CP. While the reversibility of these changes is yet to be determined, further investigation into follow-up data is planned.
The study involved 86 Long Covid patients, 67 recovered individuals, and 26 healthy controls. Senior author Thomas M. Wisniewski noted that future research will track patients to ascertain if these brain changes predict long-term cognitive issues.
