We Just Got More Evidence That Long COVID Is a Brain Injury

The exact nature of long COVID is still coming to light, but we just got some of the best evidence yet that this debilitating condition stems from a brain injury.

Using high-resolution scanners, researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford have shown microscopic, structural abnormalities in the brainstems of those recovering from COVID-19.

Signs of brain inflammation were present up to 18 months after first contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

“We show that the brainstem is a site of vulnerability to long-term effects of COVID-19, with persistent changes evident in the months after hospitalization,” the authors of the study conclude.

https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awae215

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  • BJHanssen@lemmy.worldEnglish
    18·
    9 hours ago

    I believe the signs have always pointed to it being a one-two punch of lingering inflammation and actual lasting physical damage to the blood vessels, including in the brain. The fatigue symptoms dissipated for me after about a year, but the inability to focus and the shite memory has not and likely will not go away. Also my muscles got fucked by the rhabdo and my EDS got much worse, but hey…

    Every new piece of scholarly evidence is good to have.