Brain's frontal lobe electrical activity can be disrupted by COVID-19 illness
Revised Article:
Let's dive into the mysterious world where COVID-19 and the human brain intertwine, shall we?
Fascinating research suggests a connection between neurological issues in patients battling COVID-19 and abnormalities in their brain activity, as detected by EEG tests. But what does that really mean?
Approximately 15-25% of individuals grappling with severe COVID-19 experience symptoms that touch upon the nervous system, such as headaches, confusion, delirium, impaired consciousness, seizures, and strokes. When faced with such symptoms, doctors often refer patients for an EEG test, where electrodes are placed on the scalp to monitor the brain's electrical activity.
To get a better grasp on how COVID-19 affects the brain, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh analyzed EEG results from 617 patients found in 84 separate studies.
The median age of these patients was 61.3 years, with approximately two-thirds being male. The researchers identified the slowing of brain waves and abnormal electrical discharges as the most common findings.
Interestingly, the severity of the EEG abnormalities was found to positively correlate with the severity of the disease and the presence of pre-existing neurological conditions, such as epilepsy.
In the study published in the journal Seizure: European Journal of Epilepsy, one-third of the abnormalities were found in the frontal lobes of the brain, which leads researchers to believe the virus might take a direct hit on this sensitive region.
Dr. Zulfi Haneef, assistant professor of neurology/neurophysiology at Baylor and one of the study's co-authors, explains that the nose is the most likely entry point for the virus, and since the frontal lobe is located right next to it, there might be a connection between the viral invasion and the damages observed. He suggests that more EEG tests should be administered, as well as other imaging techniques like MRI or CT scans, to gain a closer look at the frontal lobe.
However, it's worth noting that the virus might not be solely responsible for the damage. Systemic effects of the infection, such as inflammation, low oxygen levels, sticky blood, and cardiac arrest, may also play a role in the EEG abnormalities extending beyond the frontal lobes.
The study found "diffuse slowing" in the background electrical activity of the whole brain in almost 70% of patients, which could be another clue pointing towards broader brain involvement.
Speaking of the brain, have you ever wondered about the mysterious "brain fog" some people report even after recovering from COVID-19? A recent, yet-to-be-peer-reviewed study found that people who believe they've had COVID-19 perform less optimally on an online cognitive test compared to those without such beliefs. Although the study doesn't prove that the infection directly causes long-term cognitive decline, it raises serious concerns about the potential lasting effects on the brain.
Dr. Haneef echoes these concerns, stating that the EEG abnormalities associated with the neurological symptoms of COVID-19 add fuel to the flames. "Unfortunately, many people think they will just get sick, recover, and everything will go back to normal. However, our findings suggest that there might be some lingering issues, which we've long suspected, and we're increasingly finding evidence to back that up," he adds.
On a hopeful note, 56.8% of patients who underwent follow-up EEG tests showed improvements.
The researchers acknowledge several limitations, such as lack of access to raw data from individual studies, and potential skewing of the research results due to doctors performing disproportionately more EEGs on patients with neurological symptoms and possibly omitting to report normal EEGs. Additionally, doctors may have administered anti-seizure medications to patients they suspected of having seizures, potentially obscuring signs in their EEG traces.
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- The research on COVID-19 patients shows a positive correlation between the severity of EEG abnormalities and the severity of the disease, as well as the presence of pre-existing neurological conditions such as epilepsy.
- In a study published in the journal Seizure: European Journal of Epilepsy, researchers found that one-third of the EEG abnormalities were in the frontal lobes of the brain, leading them to suspect a direct hit by the virus on this sensitive region.
- Additionally, while the virus might not be solely responsible for the damage, systemic effects of the infection, such as inflammation, low oxygen levels, and cardiac arrest, may also contribute to observed EEG abnormalities that extend beyond the frontal lobes.
- Studies suggest that the mysterious "brain fog" some people report even after recovering from COVID-19 might be a lasting effect of the infection, as people who believe they've had COVID-19 perform less optimally on cognitive tests compared to those without such beliefs.
