NIH study uncovers blood vessel damage and inflammation in COVID-19 patients’ brains but no infection

Results from a study of 19 deceased patients suggests brain damage is a byproduct of a patient’s illness.

Although COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory disease, patients often experience neurological problems including headaches, delirium, cognitive dysfunction, dizziness, fatigue, and loss of the sense of smell. The disease may also cause patients to suffer strokes and other neuropathologies.

“We found that the brains of patients who contract infection from SARS-CoV-2 may be susceptible to microvascular blood vessel damage. Our results suggest that this may be caused by the body’s inflammatory response to the virus” said Avindra Nath, M.D., clinical director at the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the senior author of the study. “We hope these results will help doctors understand the full spectrum of problems patients may suffer so that we can come up with better treatments.”

Arrows point to light and dark spots that are indicative of blood vessel damage observed in the study. NIAID

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2033369