Scientists from Thomas Jefferson University found that COVID-19 could increase the risk of brain degeneration seen in Parkinson’s disease.
The research is published in Movement Disorders and was conducted by Richard Smeyne et al.
Brain fog, headaches, and insomnia are some of the neurological symptoms doctors have observed in COVID-19 patients.
But the mechanisms by which viruses impact the brain are poorly understood.
Parkinson’s is a rare disease that affects 2% of the population above 55 years. Understanding how coronavirus impacts the brain can help doctors prepare for the long-term consequences of this pandemic.
In the study, the team showed that viruses can make brain cells or neurons more susceptible to damage or death.
The researchers used mice that were genetically engineered to express the human ACE-2 receptor, which the SARS-CoV-2 virus uses to gain access to the cells in our airway.
They found that COVID-19 infection alone had no effect on the dopaminergic neurons in the brain.
However, mice that were given the low dose of MPTP after recovering from infection showed neuron loss seen in Parkinson’s disease.
MPTP is a toxin that is known to induce some of the characteristic features of Parkinson’s. The lab mice were given a low dose of MPTP that would not normally cause any loss of neurons.
This increased sensitivity after COVID-19 infection to MPTP was similar to what was seen in the influenza study; this suggests that both viruses could induce an equivalent increase in risk for developing Parkinson’s.
The team says the virus itself does not kill the neurons, but it does makes them more susceptible to a ‘second hit,’ such as a toxin or bacteria or even an underlying genetic mutation.
Both influenza and SARS-CoV2 have been found to cause a “cytokine storm” or an overproduction of pro-inflammatory chemicals.
These chemicals can cross the blood-brain barrier and activate the brain’s immune cells.
While the mechanism is not fully understood, the researchers believe that increased inflammation can cause cellular stress. This then lowers the neurons’ threshold to withstand subsequent stress.
If you care about COVID, please read studies about why smokers have a lower risk of COVID-19, and vitamin D can be a cheap COVID-19 treatment.
For more information about COVID, please see recent studies about drug that can block multiple COVID-19 variants, and results showing COVID-19 is a vascular disease.
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