The coronavirus infection was first believed only to affect the lungs, but months into the pandemic, scientists began seeing proof that it could severely affect other parts of the body and cause heart issues and diabetes.
Now, experts have also found evidence that COVID-19 could lead to severe neurological damage.
Severe Brain Damage Caused by Coronavirus Infection
According to a report by Reuters, the new study was conducted by researchers from the University College of London (UCL) who observed 43 COVID-19 patients who have developed severe brain effects, such as stroke, temporary brain dysfunction, and nerve damage.
This recent study further supports the idea that coronavirus could damage the brain along with major organs in the body.
According to the study, which was published in the journal Brain, nine coronavirus patients who had brain inflammation were also diagnosed with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), a rare disease that is often seen in children.
Viral infections like COVID-19 trigger ADEM.
"Whether we will see an epidemic on a large scale of brain damage linked to the pandemic - perhaps similar to the encephalitis lethargica outbreak in the 1920s and 1930s after the 1918 influenza pandemic - remains to be seen," said Michael Zandi from UCL's Institute of Neurology and co-leader of the paper.
The researchers who took part in the study said they would see at least one adult coronavirus patient with ADEM each month, but the numbers have increased during the study period.
By the time they were conducting the research, the scientists had seen at least one adult patient with ADEM each week, to which they had described as "a concerning increase."
A Worrying Complication
Adrian Owen, a neuroscientist from Western University in Canada, told the news outlet that he worries that the millions of people who recover from COVID-19 could be affected by the disease if they are left with cognitive deficits from the infection.
"That's going to affect their ability to work and their ability to go about activities of daily living," Owen said.
He further said that the evidence that has piled up is enough proof to create a bigger global study about the effects of COVID-19 on a patient's brain to assess how common these neurological and psychiatric complications are.
For now, Owen has started his own international research study wherein patients could sign up on a website known as covidbrainstudy.com and answer a series of cognitive tests to see whether COVID-19 has altered their brain functions.
Owen believes it's essential to collect data now as the virus is affecting millions of people today.
Brain Damage in Children
Meanwhile, in a recent FOX News report, four children from Great Ormond Street Hospital in London who are positive with the virus have also developed neurological effects.
Interestingly, they did not develop any respiratory symptoms.
Researchers who observed the children said they found lesions in the brain through imaging, and although these lesions could be found with other viral infections, they believe it should be added as a possible diagnosis for kids with coronavirus.
The researchers published their findings in JAMA Neurology.
