Washington University School of Medicine: "COVID-19 Penetrates the Blood-Brain Barrier"…Paper Published in Nature Neuroscience

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Animal experiments have shown that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) can pass through the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which functions to block foreign substances in the brain.

This finding is noteworthy as it may explain why some COVID-19 patients experience cognitive impairments such as brain fog.

According to major foreign media on the 21st, the results of this study conducted by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in the United States were recently published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Brain fog refers to symptoms characterized by a persistent feeling of mental cloudiness, accompanied by decreased concentration and memory, reduced appetite, fatigue, and depression.

Reviewing the abstract of the paper published on the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) website reveals that the spike protein, which plays a crucial role in cellular infection by COVID-19, is also involved in inducing inflammation in the brain.

William Banks, MD, the first author of the paper, stated, "It appears that the spike protein induces the brain to secrete cytokines and inflammatory byproducts."

Brain inflammation is being identified as a cause of brain fog. Researchers at the University of Birmingham in the UK published a paper last November suggesting that inflammation of neural circuits in the brain is associated with brain fog.

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