Researchers Finally Link Long Covid 'Brain Fog' to Inflammation

An anonymous reader shared this report from The Hill: A new study indicates the debilitating "brain fog" suffered by millions of long COVID patients is linked to changes in the brain, including inflammation and an impaired ability to rewire itself following COVID-19 infection. United Press International reported this week that the small-scale study, conducted by researchers at Corewell Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Michigan State University, shows that altered levels of a pair of key brain chemicals could be the culprit.

The study marks the first time doctors have been able to provide scientific proof that validates the experiences of the approximately 12 million COVID "long-haulers" in the U.S. who have reported neurological symptoms. Researchers looked at biomarkers in study participants and found that those complaining of brain fog had higher levels of an anti-inflammatory protein that is crucial to regulating a person's immune system, UPI reported. They also showed lower serum levels of nerve growth factor, a protein vital to the brain's plasticity...

One of the biggest issues involving long COVID has been doctors' inability to find physical proof of the symptoms described by patients. The study has changed that, according to co-author Dr. Bengt Arnetz.

How about sense of smell?

[TheMiddleRoad]

My nose has felt inflamed ever since the first time I caught COVID, and my sense of smell is only maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of what it used to be. At least I don't smell farts so much anymore.

Re: How about sense of smell?

[vbdasc]

Mine is severely impaired too. Thankfully, no brain fog in my case.

Re:

[BrightCandle]

Nerve and brain damage, it comes from Covid travelling up the nerves to get into your brain. Was a series of papers on it in 2022.

Re: How about sense of smell?

[mhajicek]

I never noticed a change in my sense of smell, but my face went numb a couple times. A few days later I noticed the music I was listening to and the sunset I watched were both unusually euphoric, probably indicating regrowth in my brain.

Re:

[sonicmerlin]

Brain cells don’t “regrow”. You probably just cleared up the infection.

Re:

[Dragonslicer]

Apparently the whole "adults don't grow new brain cells" thing isn't true. New brain cells in adults is a small percentage of the number for children, but it isn't zero.

Re:

[burtosis]

I woke up with tinnitus while having Covid. Several days in without any severe symptoms and then just woke up with some solid ringing around 12khz sound that never ends and is made worse by loud sounds like wind, or a shower, or engine. That was two years ago and I have still had it every day since then but my brain has gotten better at tuning it out. Guess that was the last time I’ll hear quiet again but at least it’s only shot out my high range hearing over 10kHz which is normal at my age I

Re:

[sg_oneill]

Look into hypnotism for the tinnitis. It doesn't necessarily make the tinnitis away. Rather it makes it so you just don't care at all. Its just background nonsense.

The guitarist in my old band was going out of his mind with his, and the hypnotherapy worked amazingly. He still had it, but he just didnt notice it unless he was reminded.

Re:

[BroccoliKing]

Actually had the opposite and my sense of smell is way more sensitive now. As an ex-smoker, it is truly awful now. The smell of tobacco smoke was bad before but it is gag inducing now.

Inflamation

[Valgrus Thunderaxe]

I wonder how many of these people still eat meat?

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

"How do you know if someone is vegan? Don't worry -they will tell you."

Re: Inflamation

[Dr_Ken]

They will.

Re:

[leptons]

Well if you try to serve them meat, what do you expect them to do? Just eat the meat? Or tell you that they are vegan?

Re: Inflamation

[vbdasc]

Probably the same percentage as in the general population.

Re:

[Gravis Zero]

I wonder how many of these people still eat meat?

I wonder why you think that point is relevant.

Re:

[PleaseThink]

A carnivore diet significantly reduces inflammation, but I don't think that's what the poster was going for...

"A carnivore diet"

[davidwr]

I eat herbivores.

A study on 17 people, 10 of which are symptomatic

[ffkom]

This is really only a very small pilot study, with groups of only 10 patients and 7 controls. There is still not a small chance that these results cannot be reproduced when looking at a larger group of people.

Re:

[smap77]

Yes, and... that's the point of a pilot study--to see if it's worth it to make a larger study.

Some details from the paper on that point:
While formal power calculations are not required for pilot studies [38], it was important to have a sufficient sample size to examine the feasibility of recruiting participants with and without long COVID, and whether differences could be detected between groups [39].

(Limitations:) First and foremost is the small sample size, which makes generalizability to other populatio

Re:

[ffkom]

I'm not blaming the study text for exaggerated claims, but the statement:

One of the biggest issues involving long COVID has been doctors' inability to find physical proof of the symptoms described by patients. The study has changed that, according to co-author Dr. Bengt Arnetz.

is clearly overstating the results. The result of that study is indeed just an indication that it may be worth looking into this causality hypothesis some more.

Send this article

[hcs_$reboot]

to the COVID anti-vaccine people.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Why? They won't read it.

Re:

[HiThere]

Sorry, while COVID vaccine decreases the chance of getting COVID, and decreases the severity of the disease, there are indications that it doesn't decrease the prevalence of long COVID (among those who do catch the disease).

So this isn't additional evidence that vaccination isn't desirable. If you weren't already convinced, this won't convince you.

FWIW, I'm relying of articles from Science News to make the assertions in the first paragraph. And they WEREN'T and assertion that there is no effect, merely th

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

That is not how vaccines work. You still need to be exposed to the infection(s) for the antibodies to do their job.

Stop talking to anti-vaxxers, they are making you stupid.

the last in a long chain of evidence

[BrightCandle]

While the first finding of this particular type there have been numerous studies finding neural inflammation including glial cells as well as continued infection of the brain well after the acute infection has passed. Many have been much larger and more compelling than this small study. There are about 550,000 papers on Covid harms and Long Covid now, it's one of the most studied viruses of all time and it does a wide range of damage I know of no papers saying Covid is just a cold.

Re:

[ffkom]

it's one of the most studied viruses of all time

Which is certainly one reason why so many symptoms have been attributed to it, and why so many hypotheses exist on what it may cause. Just imagine infections with, for example, OC43, had been studied as intensely, accompanied by a big media campaign warning the population of all sorts of symptoms that might occur due to an OC43 infection. Then we would pretty likely have a similar number of people complaining about OC43 effects, and since infections with OC43 are currently considered a "common cold", that w

Re:

[sonicmerlin]

You are so unbelievably stupid, and as is typical it’s the idiots who think they’re the most intelligent.

Hold up!

[Gravis Zero]

The study marks the first time doctors have been able to provide scientific proof that validates the experiences of the approximately 12 million COVID “long-haulers” in the U.S. who have reported neurological symptoms.

Where are all those people that kept saying, "it's just the flu" and therefore weren't going to abide safety guidelines or get vaccinated?

Re:Hold up!

[Local ID10T]

Where are all those people that kept saying, "it's just the flu" and therefore weren't going to abide safety guidelines or get vaccinated?

Dead.

(...or they got vaccinated and/or sought medical assistance once infected while still complaining that it was all a hoax.)

Re:

[burtosis]

Dead.

I was in the ER a few months ago with an injury to a finger and was hallwayed because all the rooms were filled. While I was waiting for service, they wheeled this perhaps 60 year old lady in who had collapsed near her apartment and took an ambulance in eventually getting into the hallway parking stall next to me. She started to rage when she was coming to her senses and the hospital staff told her and that she had the symptoms of a severe infection. She started saying the hospital staff was poisoning h

Re:

[ffkom]

Where are all those people that kept saying, "it's just the flu" and therefore weren't going to abide safety guidelines or get vaccinated?

Dead.

(...or they got vaccinated and/or sought medical assistance once infected while still complaining that it was all a hoax.)

I wonder who mods such a nonsense statement as "insightful", but the epidemiological numbers tell a different story. The majority of people infected with Sars-Cov-2 had no or mild symptoms, vaccinated or not. Just because vaccination has prevented severe outcomes in some patients does not change that fact.

But is it unique to COVID-19? Seems unlikely

[brunes69]

The protein and symptoms described could have occured from ANY viral infection. So is whole debacle REALLY unique to COVID, or are we just seeing more reporting of something already previously existing for certain individuals?