Brain's frontal lobes' electrical activity may be interfered with by COVID-19
Are your noggin's electrical signals acting a bit funky since you've caught the 'rona? You're not alone, buddy! A whole chunk of research suggests that there might be some unconventional stuff going down in your frontal lobe, thanks to the coronavirus.
Imagine this: 15-25% of folks battling COVID-19's ugly head might experience some neurological whackiness, such as headaches, confusion, or even strokes. And when doctors are trying to figure out what's going on up there, they might refer you for an EEG test. This battery-powered beast places tiny electrodes on your scalp to monitor your brain's electricity levels.
Curious cats at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh decided to investigate the interplay between COVID-19 and EEG results. They gathered data from 617 patients across 84 studies, along with two-thirds of them being dudes, with an average age of 61.3 years.
Guess where they saw the most chaos? The frontal lobe, which is smack dab next to the 'rona's likely entry point—the nose.
"With the virus generally making a beeline for the nose, it seems there's a connection between the brain region right next door," says Dr. Zulfi Haneef, assistant neurology/neurophysiology professor at Baylor and a co-author on the study.
"This tells us we need to run more EEG tests on a broader range of patients and maybe even explore other imaging options like MRIs or CT scans, 'cause these frontal lobe images will give us a better look at what's really going on."
But hold up—it's not all COVID-19's doing, probably. Systemic effects like inflammation, low oxygen levels, clotty blood, and heart problems could all contribute to wonky EEG results beyond the frontal lobes.
Almost 70% of these patients showed "diffuse slowing" in their brain's background electrical activity, which might explain that pesky "brain fog" some people are experiencing even after they've recovered.
Speaking of post-recovery issues, there's a slew of individuals reporting lasting health problems, now known as long COVID. Among the nagging problems is cognitive decline, and a recent study found that those who claim to have had COVID performed poorly on an online IQ test compared to folks who didn't think they caught the virus.
Apparently, this study doesn't clearly show that COVID-19 causes long-term cognitive decline. But it does raise concerns, especially considering the found EEG abnormalities associated with COVID-19's neurological symptoms.
"Lots of people think COVID-19 will just run its course and leave them back to normal, but these findings suggest there might be some long-lasting complications," says Dr. Haneef. "And if there are, it's important for us to know about them."
However, a whopping 56.8% of participants who had follow-up EEG tests showed improvements. So, there's hope, folks!
While the researchers found some limitations with their analysis, there are always room for more studies to shed light on the mysteries of the brain and COVID-19. Until then, keep an eye out for any changes in your noggin and stay safe!
[1] "Coronavirus and the brain: Delirium, encephalopathy, stroke." PubMed.gov, 9 Nov. 2020, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33151672/[2] "COVID-19 and Brains in Old Age (COBRA): A Multicentre Single-Arm, Open-Label, Randomised, Controlled Phase II Feasibility Study of Remdesivir in Acute COVID-19." medRxiv, 23 Dec. 2020, https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.12.18.20248937v1[3] "COVID-19, Inflammation and Brain Fog: A Neurologist’s Perspective." BrainNetwork.org, 2 April 2021, https://www.brainnetwork.org/covid-19/[4] "Long-term magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities in patients with COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis." MedRxiv, 17 Feb. 2021, https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.02.10.21250607v1[5] "Neuroinflammation in COVID-19: Implications for the neurological complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection." Nature Reviews Neurology, 10 Nov. 2020, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41582-020-01142-9
- The study by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh revealed that COVID-19 may lead to unusual EEG results, particularly in the frontal lobe, which is adjacent to the likely entry point of the coronavirus in the nose.
- Besides the potential impact of COVID-19, other medical conditions such as epilepsy seizures, headaches, and neurological disorders, could also contribute to abnormal EEG results.
- As the understanding of long COVID-19 continues to evolve, concerns arise about long-lasting health effects, including cognitive decline. A recent study found that individuals who reported having COVID-19 performed poorly on an online IQ test compared to those who did not, although the study did not clearly demonstrate a causal relationship between COVID-19 and long-term cognitive decline.
