This study, published in the journal Brain, studied 43 adult COVID-19 patients in the UK and found that they subsequently suffered from more serious brain diseases such as stroke, nerve damage, and temporary brain dysfunction.

A newly published study by researchers at University College London has given people a new warning: COVID-19 The new coronavirus may cause varying degrees of brain damage, even in people with mild infection. body.

This study, published in the journal "Brain", studied 43 adult COVID-19 patients in the UK and found that they were subsequently troubled by more serious brain diseases such as stroke, nerve damage , and temporary brain dysfunction. Among them, many patients only have mild symptoms such as fever after being infected with COVID-19; even for some patients, they have no other clinical symptoms of the new coronavirus except nervous system .

A 55-year-old woman with no history of mental illness was hospitalized for treatment after experiencing fever, cough and muscle aches after contracting the COVID-19 virus. She was discharged from the hospital after two weeks, but four days later her husband reported that the woman was hallucinating, seeing lions and monkeys in her home, and attacking her family and hospital staff. She was then treated with antipsychotic medication and over the course of about three weeks her condition improved, but full recovery was not confirmed.

In addition, nine of the more than 40 patients were diagnosed with acute demyelinating encephalomyelitis (ADEM) - a neurological disease that can lead to paralysis or dementia in severe cases. Knowledge barrier . In the past, the disease has typically been seen in children infected with the virus, but not in adults like this study. This is also extremely worrying.

One of the study's researchers, Michael Zandi, said: "Will we see a massive outbreak of brain damage associated with a pandemic - perhaps similar to what happened after the 1918 influenza pandemic in the 20s and 30s? Encephalitis lethargica broke out in the 1990s - that remains to be seen." He added that the next step in research is to "investigate the causes and treatments of related neurological diseases and continue to work on surveillance and epidemiology. "These require global cooperation.

Researchers have also reminded the medical community to pay attention to the treatment of long-term sequelae of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Ross Paterson of the Research Center for Machine Learning in London, who was also involved in the study, added: "Given that the disease has only been around for a few months, we may not yet know what COVID-19 will cause. and what kind of long-term damage. Doctors need to be aware of possible neurological effects because early diagnosis can improve patient outcomes."

Just before this study was published, the World Health Organization had just acknowledged that there was "evidence. “Coronavirus can be spread through the air. Previously, the World Health Organization has maintained that the new coronavirus is transmitted through droplets, and droplets do not stay in the air for long. This change means that people's necessary protective measures against the new coronavirus will also be stricter.