Lungs no longer remain the only target….

Image Source – Google | Image by Aylin Woodward

New research discovered that COVID-19 is associated with fatal brain disorders and neurological problems.

Coronavirus infected patients sustain brain swelling followed by the episodes of delirium, according to research published in the journal Brain on Wednesday.

The research looked at 40 adult patients with Covid-19 in the UK, finding that some of them have nervous-system disorders such as Guillain-Barre syndrome that leads to paralysis, while others have fatal strokes. Even the patients that have only mild symptoms of the virus reported to have chronic brain damages.

“We are seeing things in the way COVID-19 affects the brain that we haven’t seen before with other viruses,” Micheal Zandie, a co-author of the study said in an interview.

One COVID-19 patient started hallucinating monkeys and lions…

A 55-year-old COVID patient with no existing or previous mental illness was admitted to hospital with mild symptoms like fever, cough and muscle aches. She was later discharged after two weeks, but her husband reported her strange behavior at home. She started hallucinating monkeys and lions at her room and became hostile towards family members and hospital staff. She was then treated with antipsychotic medications and later discharged after the course of three weeks, though it’s unclear whether she made a full recovery.

Other COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms, between the ages of 16-85, reported similar neurological issues including more cases of delirium and psychosis.

“You can have severe neurology, you can be quite sick, but actually have trivial lung disease,” Zandi added.

Among the 40 patients observed in the study, about a dozen have had swelling in their nervous systems, one person died, while nine of them were diagnosed with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), swelling and inflammation in the brain cells.

In fact, the authors stated that the number of ADEM cases has started increasing since the Coronavirus pandemic began.

Overall, the research concluded that the fatal neurological disorders are not necessarily associated with severe respiratory disorders among COVID-19 patients – meaning that even the patient’s lungs appear to be fine, but their mental state may not be.

Even the younger COVID-19 patient can experience fatal strokes…

It’s no longer an old age disease…

Eight infected patients in the study reported to have strokes caused by blood clots in their brains, including a 27-year-old woman with mild viral symptoms.

In another research, it has been found that even younger patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms could experience strokes. In April, New York City reported that the patients in their 40s and 30s had been taken to the hospital because of coronavirus-related strokes.

Coronavirus Pandemic is the root cause of the epidemic of neurological disorders

Initially, health officials were concerned that the virus may have a long term effect over the patients’ health. Authors of the study suggested the same thing.

“My worry is that we have millions of people with COVID-19 now. And if in a year’s time we have 10 million recovered people, and those people have cognitive deficits… then that’s going to affect their ability to work and their ability to go about activities of daily living,” said Adrian Owen, a neurologist who was not the part of the study, told a private news organization.

Despite the gradual decline in the coronavirus cases in the UK, scientists are fearing for the second-worst phase of the pandemic that is about to hit harder!

So, make sure to follow all the SOPs and ensure the use of protective gears such as reliable and authentic Face Shields and Mask wherever you go out.