Study says severe Covid-19 can decline cognitive abilities similar to 20 years of brain ageing or equivalent of losing 10 IQ points

 

Neurologists around the world have already identified neurological disorders as one of the harmful effects of COVID-19, especially in old-age patients, including brain problems such as brain swelling, brain stroke. Brain attacks, blood clots in the brain, brain dysfunction have been observed. As a post-covid effect.

Now, a latest study on post-Covid-19 effects have revealed that cognitive deficits can happen to people suffering from Covid for a long period and brain functions can damage as a result of severe Covid infection, which can be equal to 20 years of aging or also the equivalent of losing 10 IQ points.

Scientists from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London claimed; patients, who are on ventilation can lose their cognitive abilities due to severe Covid-19 effects, it can have a long impact on mental well-being.

Professor at Cambridge University and senior author of the study, David Menon said, "Covid does cause  lasting cognitive and mental health problems with recovered patients reporting symptoms including fatigue, brain fog, problems recalling words, sleep disturbances, anxiety and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) months after infection."

The findings, published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, suggest the effects are still detectable more than six months after the acute illness, and that any recovery is at best gradual.

CAT scan of a brain with Alzheimer's disease. (ZEPHYR/Getty Images)

How study was done on critical Covid-19 patients,

The study was conducted on 46 Covid-19 critical patients at Addenbrooke's hospital. The cognitive tests were conducted through the Cognitron platform which has been developed by researchers at Imperial College London.

Researchers said, "The individuals underwent detailed computerized cognitive tests an average of six months after their acute illness using the Cognitron platform, which measures different aspects of mental faculties such as memory, attention and reasoning."

These cognitive tests contributed towards forming the basis of the BBC’s Great British Intelligence Test. The BBC's Great British Intelligence Test is an online test that aims to find out how smart the UK population is and how human intelligence works.

What was the result ,

Results from the cognitive tests were then compared with 460 other people who had not suffered from Covid-19 and participated in the BBC test. After comparison, researchers found that Covid patients "had particular cognitive impairments, including slower processing speed".

There are several factors that could cause the cognitive deficits, the researchers said.

They said direct viral infection is possible, but unlikely to be a major cause. It is more likely that a combination of factors contribute, including inadequate oxygen or blood supply to the brain, blockage of large or all blood vessels due to clotting, and microscopic bleeds.

However, emerging evidence suggests that the most important mechanism may be caused by the body's own inflammatory response and immune system, according to the researchers.

While the study looked at hospitalized cases, the team say that even those patients not sick enough to be admitted may also have tell-tale signs of mild impairment.

Imperial’s professor Adam Hampshire, the study’s first author, said: “Around 40,000 people have been through intensive care with Covid-19 in England alone and many more will have been very sick, but not admitted to hospital. This means there is a large number of people out there still experiencing problems with cognition many months later. We urgently need to look at what can be done to help these people.”