While COVID-19 continues to be active in several western countries, its severity has diminished. A vexing issue however is Long COVID, a set of long-term health problems that linger for several months following recovery from the infection. A recent Harvard study comparing infected and non-infected individuals, reported a 10% risk of getting Long COVID.
A prominent Long COVID symptom is brain fog, which involves difficulty focusing, memory impairment and challenges in decision-making. A recent study from Stony Brook University in the U.S., utilising cognitive assessment tests, identified a significant intellectual decline following COVID. This was particularly pronounced among those with Long COVID. The exact mechanism remains unclear, but UK Biobank MRI studies had demonstrated shrinking of parts of the brain following COVID-19.
In this context, researchers from the University of Queensland and Macquarie University of Australia, in collaboration with the University of Helsinki recently made some startling discoveries. The results were published in the journal Science Advances.
