Brain fog, headaches, and insomnia are some of the neurological symptoms doctors have observed in COVID-19 patients. Neurological sequelae after a viral infection is not new—in fact, following the 1918 influenza pandemic, it took almost a decade for patients to present with the neurological syndrome called «post-encephalic parkinsonism.» But, the mechanisms by which viruses impact the brain are poorly understood. Now, Jefferson and collaborators show, in a new study performed in mice, that the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic could increase the risk of brain degeneration seen in Parkinson’s disease.
Study in mice suggests that COVID-19 increases risk of developing Parkinson’s disease
Brain fog, headaches, and insomnia are some of the neurological symptoms doctors have observed in COVID-19 patients. Neurological sequelae after a viral infection is not new—in fact, following the 1918 influenza pandemic, it took almost a decade for patients to present with the neurological syndrome called "post-encephalic parkinsonism." But, the mechanisms by which viruses impact the brain are poorly understood. Now, Jefferson and collaborators show, in a new study performed in mice, that the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic could increase the risk of brain degeneration seen in Parkinson's disease.