Covid-19 might be over, but brain damage still rages on

A bad dream that never ends

Coronavirus and everything that came with it might seem now like a long-ago bad dream. However, for many people, it’s still a present and unavoidable reality.

Is the pandemic officially over?

In January 2023, the World Health Organization declared that Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency, putting a symbolic end to the pandemic humanity has been living in since 2020.

Still a global threat

However, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu stressed that this doesn’t mean the coronavirus is no longer causing harm: “That does not mean Covid-19 is over as a global health threat.”

It’s all in the mind

Covid-19 has been a challenge for humanity since 2020 and a 2022 study published by Nature sheds light to what extent it can affect our brains permanently.

Clues

There were several clues that the coronavirus affected our brain. Losing the sense of smell while being infected was one of them, along with other symptoms related to long Covid, such as constant fatigue and brain fog.

Proof

A University of Oxford research team has proven that our worse fears about might be true.

Before and after photos

The methodology of the study was very simple: A group of 800 people who previously were subjected to an MRI scan had another scan after they got infected with Covid-19. The team managed to discover some important changes in the brain.

The Oxford study

The Oxford study was published in ‘Nature’ in March 2022 under the title ‘SARS-CoV-2 is associated with changes in brain structure’.

The old gray matter ain’t what she used to be

The scientists found a “greater reduction in grey matter thickness” in the brain of those who had overcome Covid-19.

Most affected areas

The most affected areas in the brain, according to the article published in ‘Nature’, are those associated with the olfactory pathways (orbitofrontal cortex and parahippocampal gyrus).

Following your nose

However, the consequences of Covid-19 go beyond the sense of smell.

Source: Covid-19 might be over, but brain damage still rages on (msn.com)