- This is one of the possible and numerous manifestations of Covid-19 that doctors have just uncovered: brain damage.
- Mental confusion, delirium or even stroke could be caused by the coronavirus.
- If these signs are associated with fever or difficulty breathing, see a doctor.
Everyone knows about the main symptoms of Covid-19: fever, cough, shortness of breath or muscle aches. Also known, the loss of taste and smell, as well as skin symptoms, recently uncovered.
Today, doctors are also observing brain damage caused by the coronavirus. These signs, observed by practitioners around the world, range from mental confusion to stroke in the most severe cases.
Don't know what year and where you are
Some Covid-19 positive patients may experience mental confusion to the point where they do not know where they are or what the current year is. A loss of bearings which is linked, in some cases, to the lack of oxygen in the blood. However, in some patients, the level of confusion seems to be out of proportion to the level of affection in their lungs.
In China, France or the United States, many practitioners have observed these brain damage and wonder about the impact of Covid-19 on the brain and nervous system. For example, in China, according to a study published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association , doctors reported that 36% of the 214 patients studied had neurological symptoms, ranging from loss of smell to nerve pain, and up to seizures and strokes.
"If you feel confused, see a doctor"
Same observation here in France. In an article published in the prestigious American scientific journal New England Journal of Medicine , doctors in Strasbourg describe that more than half of the 58 patients seen in intensive care were confused or agitated. Brain scanners revealed possible inflammations.
Cerebral symptoms also observed at Garches University Hospital. "We learn every day about this virus: now we know that there may be neurological manifestations of Covid-19," said Professor Djillali Annane, head of the resuscitation service at Raymond-Poincaré hospital, at Garches (Hauts-de-Seine), on France 2. About 10% of the patients treated in our department presented neurological anomalies, in particular disorders of the higher functions: mental confusion, sometimes going as far as loss of knowledge and coma ”.
The coronavirus, "everyone says it's a breathing problem, but it also affects the brain," said Dr. S. Andrew Josephson, head of the department of neurology at the University of California San Francisco and specialist in disorders neurovascular. "If you feel confused, if you have problems thinking, these are good reasons to consult a doctor," he adds, without waiting to be "out of breath". Thus, "in the current period, the occurrence of these symptoms, especially if they are associated with fever or respiratory signs, should immediately suggest infection with Covid-19", confirms Professor Annane.
The brain vulnerable to viruses
For virologists, these new signs of Covid-19 are not a surprise, since brain and nerve damage have also been observed with other viruses, including HIV. It would seem that a virus can affect the brain mainly in two ways. Faced with infection, the body fights by triggering an abnormal immune response called "cytokine storm", which causes inflammation that can spread to the brain: it is autoimmune encephalitis.
The second reason is anatomical. Some speculate that the nose could be the pathway for the virus to the brain, since loss of smell is common in many Covid-19 patients. In this hypothesis, the infection directly spreads to the brain: it is viral encephalitis. The brain is protected by what is called the blood-brain barrier: its role is to block intruders, but it can be pierced. "There is an anatomical proximity between the nasal cavities, where the virus will nestle, and the olfactory bulb, an extension of the brain," said Professor Djillali Annane. The virus could enter the brain in this region and spread further to touch other parts of it. ”
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