Akshi kamboj(intern journalist) As per a recent study led by the research team at university college London (UCL) and university college London hospitals (UCLH), neurological complications of COVID-19 may include Delirium, rare brain inflammation and stroke. it was published in the journal brain.
The study identified a fatal inflammatory condition that is quite rare and typically seen in children, known as ADEM (acute disseminated encephalomyelitis) which is quite prevalent nowadays due to the pandemic because it can be triggered by viral infections. The study provided a detailed account of 43 people with such neurological symptoms who had either confirmed or suspected of COVID-19. 10 out of these 43 patients were identified as temporary brain dysfunction with delirium. From the remaining 33 people, 12 people had brain inflammation, 8 cases of strokes, and 8 others with nerve damage.
“We should be vigilant and look out for these complications in people who have had Covid-19. Whether we will see an epidemic on a large scale of brain damage linked to the pandemic – perhaps similar to the encephalitis lethargica outbreak in the 1920s and 1930s after the 1918 influenza pandemic – remains to be seen”.
stated joint senior author Dr. Michael zandi
the study revealed that the symptoms may not be a direct consequence of the coronavirus but due to the immune system acting on healthy cells. The coronavirus was not detected in the cerebrospinal brain fluid suggesting that the brain wasn’t directly targeted by the virus. hence, it was concluded that the neurological complications came because of the immune response rather than the virus itself.