Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study Points To Possible Link Between COVID-19 And Brain Damage
Scientists are calling attention to a potential link between COVID-19 and brain damage after a study released Wednesday found more evidence to suggest that the virus can cause neurological issues. Researchers at the University College London (UCL) conducted the study involving 43 patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infections who developed neurological symptoms, like inflammation, psychosis and delirium. The study was published in the journal Brain. (Coleman, 7/8)
Of 43 patients with neurologic symptoms studied at the University College London, 29 tested positive for COVID-19, 8 with probable infections and 6 with possible infections. Ten of the 43 patients presented with delirium or psychosis, and 12 had inflammatory central nervous system (CNS) syndromes. Eight patients had strokes, and eight others had nerve damage, mostly caused by Guillain-Barre syndrome. (7/8)
“Whether we will see an epidemic on a large scale of brain damage linked to the pandemic – perhaps similar to the encephalitis lethargica outbreak in the 1920s and 1930s after the 1918 influenza pandemic – remains to be seen,” said Michael Zandi, from UCL’s Institute of Neurology, who co-led the study. (Kelland, 7/7)
