by Danielle Bradshaw from In The Cloud Copy

Throughout the duration of the pandemic, it’s become abundantly clear that scientists still don’t have a solid grasp on the diverse array of signs and symptoms that the virus can cause. These range from losing sense of smell to greater chances of suffering a stroke. The negative effects of COVID-19 can impact the brain as well; Guillain-Barre syndrome and chronic fatigue are just some of the maladies that people who’ve contracted COVID have had.

It has been theorized that these effects were caused by the virus infecting the brain’s tissue, but now, there is evidence that suggests that when the virus infiltrates epithelial cells of the cardiovascular system or the immune system. it triggers a secondary effect that can lead to neurological issues even after the patient has gotten over COVID-19.

How the Immune System and the Brain Connect

As it turns out, a lot of what people refer to as symptoms of the virus is actually the immune system trying to protect itself from illness. Having a runny nose when you have a cold isn’t a result of the cold virus itself, but rather the immune system responding to the virus.

As it turns out, being sick in general works this way; feverishness and feeling tired are caused by a particular kind of immune cell (neuroimmune cells) being activated within a person’s brain. Although it may not seem like it, these physiological and psychological changes can be beneficial.

For example, fevers make it harder for viruses to propagate in the body and isolating oneself keeps the virus from spreading. It’s also been found that on top of these useful changes in behavior and physiology, the brain’s neuroimmune cells can be found in synapses, which give energy and small signals for inflammation. Altogether, these processes are vital for creating memories.

This also makes it so that COVID-19 and other similar illnesses can lead to long-term problems in the brain and neurological issues.

How COVID-19 Impacts Cells

When a person is sick or suffering some sort of inflammation, the neuroimmune cells “turn on” and create large numbers of inflammatory signals as well as alter the way they “talk” to neurons.

Let’s look at microglia cells for a moment. In these cases, the cells change shape; they lose their lanky arms, become blob-like and mobile. They travel about, consuming the waste from other cells and possible pathogens. This might not sound like such a big deal, but they also ruin and consume the neuronal connections that contribute to storing memory.

Astrocytes, another type of neuroimmune cell, normally coil around neuron connections during illness and pour inflammation signals onto them. In doing so, they create a situation in which the connections in memory storing neurons can’t make changes.

COVID-19 basically works like this. The virus triggers a huge number of inflammatory signals.

So How Can Inflammation Impact Memory in the Long Term?

Neurons in the brain both hold memories and change behaviors that can decrease our chances of survival. Our immune systems, on the other hand, have evolved to streamline and improve the inflammatory response and production of antibodies when re-encountering pathogens.

That said, inflammatory signaling can be calamitous and upset the natural balance within the brain which can result in permanent damage to both neurons, their connections, and even the functionality of neurons.

The link to memory problems and COVID-19 has been based on observing other illnesses. It’s very similar to how people who recover from heart attacks may find that they suffer from cognitive deficiencies that worsen as they get older.

It’s been observed in laboratory conditions that inflammation triggered in the absence of viral or bacterial infections can still lead to long-term neuronal functionality and memory issues.

Can COVID-19 Result in an Increased Risk of Cognitive Decline?

As of right now, there’s no clear answer as to whether that’s the case or not. It’ll take years before we know for certain if COVID-19 can increase a person’s chances of cognition problems. It is thought, however, that this potential risk can be lowered by proper treatment and management of COVID-19.

The means to both treat and prevent cognitive decline the key factor is in the ability to reduce how severe and how long the illness and the inflammatory period lasts. It’s been suggested through newer research that common vaccinations like for influenza and pneumonia may lower a person’s chances of getting Alzheimer’s.

Drugs to treat COVID-19 are those that are mostly geared toward suppressing the activation of the immune system and the accompanying inflammation. It’s hoped that they can lessen brain inflammation and decrease COVID-19’s general negative impact on the brain’s health.

COVID-19’s influence on the world population’s health will exist long after the pandemic ends, so it’s important to keep studying the illness. The continued studies can lead to various new discoveries about age-related cognitive decline and may lead to better ways to prevent and treat these kinds of illnesses.

Learn more about this story here.