COVID-19 may harm the brain

Name: COVID-19 may harm the brain
Uploaded: 2020-04-07T13:06:59+02:00
Channel: Stuart Henderson
Description: Neurologists around the world say that a small subset of patients with COVID-19 are developing serious impairments of the

Neurologists around the world say that a small subset of patients with COVID-19 are developing serious impairments of the brain.

Although fever, cough and difficulty breathing are the typical hallmarks of infection with the new Coronavirus, some patients exhibit altered mental status, or encephalopathy, a catchall term for brain disease or dysfunction that can have many underlying causes, as well as other serious conditions. These neurological syndromes join other unusual symptoms, such as diminished sense of smell and taste as well as heart ailments.

“The pattern of involvement, and the way that it rapidly progressed over days, is consistent with viral inflammation of the brain,” Dr. Elissa Fory, a neurologist with Henry Ford Health System, said through an email. “This may indicate the virus can invade the brain directly in rare circumstances.”