Brain's Frontal Lobes Electrical Activity May Experiencing Disruptions Due to COVID-19
COVID-19's impact on the brain has been under investigation, with research revealing that frontal lobe abnormalities identified by electroencephalography (EEG) tests are prevalent among patients exhibiting neurological symptoms related to the virus.
Over 15-25% of patients with severe COVID-19 experience neurological symptoms such as headaches, confusion, seizures, and strokes. To investigate brain function in these patients, doctors often refer them for EEG tests, where electrodes are placed on the scalp to monitor brain activity.
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh analyzed 617 patients' EEG results from 84 different studies. The study found that slowing of brain waves and abnormal electrical discharges were the most common findings. The severity of these EEG abnormalities positively correlated with the disease's severity and whether the patients had preexisting neurological conditions.
"There seems to be a connection between the part of the brain that is located directly next to the virus's entry point, the nose," notes Dr. Zulfi Haneef from Baylor. He emphasizes that EEG tests should be conducted on a broader range of patients and combined with other brain imaging techniques, such as MRI or CT scans.
However, the virus may not be directly responsible for all the damage. Systemic effects of the infection, including inflammation, low oxygen levels, and blood clotting, could contribute to EEG abnormalities beyond the frontal lobes. The study identified "diffuse slowing" in the background electrical activity of the whole brain in almost 70% of patients.
Recovered patients have reported ongoing health issues labeled as "long COVID." Among these problems is "brain fog," a cognitive decline that may be caused by COVID-19. A recent study found that individuals who claim to have had COVID performed less well on an online cognitive test than those who did not believe they had contracted the virus. These findings add to concerns about the virus's lasting effects on the brain.
Despite these concerns, 56.8% of patients showed improvements in follow-up EEG tests. The study had limitations, such as lack of access to raw data from individual studies, possibly skewing the results due to the omission of many normal EEGs and a disproportionately high number of EEGs performed on patients with neurological symptoms. Additionally, doctors administering anti-seizure medications to suspected seizure patients may have obscured signs of seizures within EEG traces.
For more advice on COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and concerns about long-term effects, visit our coronavirus hub.
- The coronavirus's impact on the brain is a topic of ongoing investigation, with a study revealing that epilepsy seizures, as well as other neurological symptoms, are prevalent among patients with severe COVID-19.
- The Baylor College of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh study found that slowing of brain waves and abnormal electrical discharges, beyond just frontal lobe abnormalities, were common in EEG results of COVID-19 patients.
- The study also identified that recovered COVID-19 patients may experience ongoing health issues such as mental-health issues like "brain fog" and cognitive decline, underscoring concerns about the virus's long-term effects on health-and-wellness.
