Brain's Frontal Lobes Electrical Activity Potentially Affected by COVID-19
Joey Dangerous here, and today we're chatting about COVID-19's impact on the frontal lobes of the brain. Shit gets serious, so let's dive right in.
Approximately 15-25% of patients with severe COVID-19 might experience neurological symptoms, like headaches, confusion, seizures, and strokes. When these symptoms surface, medical pros often run EEG tests to monitor the electrical activity of the brain.
Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh dug into EEG results from 617 patients, reported in 84 different studies. They found common occurrences of slowing brain waves and abnormal electrical discharges – most often in the frontal lobes.
"Given the virus's most likely entry point is the nose, there appears to be a connection between the frontal lobes and the infection," says Dr. Zulfi Haneef, a neurology/neurophysiology assistant professor at Baylor. "We need to look closer at the frontal lobe through EEGs and other imaging techniques like MRIs or CT scans."
The correlation between COVID-19 severity and frontal lobe EEG abnormalities seems connected to systemic effects of the infection, such as inflammation, low oxygen levels, "sticky" blood, and cardiac arrest, which may contribute to EEG alterations beyond the frontal lobes.
Now, some people who've recovered from COVID-19 report lingering health issues, branded as "long COVID." Among these is "brain fog," which might be linked to EEG abnormalities associated with neurological symptoms from COVID-19.
"Many folks believe they'll get sick, recover, and bounce back to normal, but these findings indicate there might be long-term complications," says Dr. Haneef. "It's crucial to investigate these issues further."
On a brighter note, about 56.8% of patients with follow-up EEG tests demonstrated improvements. Researchers, however, acknowledged their study's limitations, including access to raw data, potential data omissions, and medication impact on EEG test results.
In case you're interested in learning more, head over to our coronavirus hub for up-to-date information on COVID-19. Stay safe out there, folks.
- Despite recovering from COVID-19, some individuals have reported ongoing health issues, including brain fog, which could potentially be linked to EEG abnormalities associated with neurological symptoms from the virus.
- Dr. Haneef, a neurology/neurophysiology assistant professor at Baylor, emphasizes the importance of further investigation into the potential long-term complications stemming from COVID-19.
- According to researchers, the connection between COVID-19 severity and frontal lobe EEG abnormalities might be related to systemic effects of the infection, such as inflammation, low oxygen levels, and cardiac arrest, which may contribute to EEG alterations beyond the frontal lobes.
- In a study, researchers discovered common occurrences of slowing brain waves and abnormal electrical discharges in the frontal lobes of COVID-19 patients, raising questions about the potential impact of the virus on mental health and neurological disorders like epilepsy and seizures.
