COVID-19 has the potential to interfere with the electrical functions of the frontal lobe regions in the brain.
Severe COVID-19 infections may result in neurological symptoms, potentially leading to abnormalities in the brain as detected by electroencephalography (EEG) tests, according to a review of research.
The study, published in the journal Seizure: European Journal of Epilepsy, analyzed EEG results from over 600 patients taken from 84 different studies. Nearly one-third of the identified abnormalities were observed in the frontal lobes of the brain, leading researchers to suggest that EEG tests should be administered more frequently for patients experiencing neurological symptoms.
Approximately 15-25% of patients with severe COVID-19 are likely to develop neurological symptoms such as headaches, confusion, seizures, and strokes. These symptoms can result in slowing of brain waves and abnormal electrical discharges, the research showed.
The medians age of patients who underwent EEG tests was 61.3 years, with two-thirds of them being male. The extent of the EEG abnormalities positively correlated with the severity of the disease and whether the patients had pre-existing neurological conditions.
According to Dr. Zulfi Haneef, assistant professor of neurology/neurophysiology at Baylor College of Medicine and one of the study's co-authors, the virus may not be responsible for all the damage observed in EEG tests. Systemic effects such as inflammation, low oxygen levels, and cardiac arrest may contribute to EEG abnormalities that extend beyond the frontal lobes.
While some people who have recovered from COVID-19 report ongoing health problems labeled "long COVID," researchers have found no conclusive evidence to link the infection with long-term cognitive decline. Some studies, including those that have not been peer-reviewed or published, suggest that individuals who claim to have had COVID perform less well on cognitive tests than those who did not contract the virus. However, it is crucial to note that these findings are not conclusive and do not necessarily prove that the virus causes long-term brain issues.
Despite the limitations of the current research, the findings add to concerns about potential long-term neurological effects of COVID-19, says Dr. Haneef. "We need to try EEG on a wider range of patients, as well as other types of brain imaging, such as MRI or CT scans, that will give us a closer look at the frontal lobe," he adds.
From the reviewed studies, the authors found that approximately 56.8% of patients showed improvements in their EEG tests during follow-ups. The authors also noted that their analysis had several limitations, such as lack of access to raw data from individual studies and potential skewing of results due to doctors performing disproportionately more EEGs on patients with neurological symptoms.
According to experts contacted by the Science Media Centre in London, more research is needed to establish a clear connection between COVID-19 severity and EEG abnormalities in the frontal lobes and to determine whether the virus directly causes these abnormalities or whether other factors are involved.
For more information on COVID-19 and its impact on the brain, visit our coronavirus hub for the latest updates.
- The coronavirus, responsible for COVID-19, may lead to neurological symptoms such as seizures, known as epilepsy seizures, in severe cases, as revealed by research studies.
- The science community has also been examining health-and-wellness aspects related to COVID-19, particularly how it affects the brain, including neurological-disorders like epilepsy and other related medical-conditions.
- The medically significant findings from EEG tests on patients with COVID-19 suggest a positive correlation between the severity of the disease and the extent of neurological abnormalities, including those in the frontal lobes of the brain.
