Brazilian study shows COVID-19 may cause brain damage

A study conducted by a group of 17 scientists indicates that the novel coronavirus, Sars-Cov-2, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, can infect brain cells. The researches mention the damage risks facing the central nervous system of infected patients. The research was carried out in a partnership between the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), and Instituto D’Or de Pesquisa e Ensino.

Study results are available on portal bioRxiv, dedicated to the publication of preprint articles—papers that have yet to be peer-reviewed.

The researchers analyzed the neural tissue of a child who died from COVID-19. As was the case in other studies, no coronavirus was detected in the brain. However, Sars-Cov-2 was found in the lining of neural cells in the neurocranium.

“Viral particles were detected especially in the choroid plexus and the lateral ventricle, and, to a lesser degree, in the human brain cortex, but not the rest of the brain parenchyma,” the document reads.

According to the study, the new coronavirus can infect neural brains, even though it cannot replicate in the central nervous system. However, while infecting the choroid plexus, there is a reaction from the patient’s immunological system. In the case considered, researchers believe that this response may have allowed the new coronavirus, immune cells, and cytokines to access the central nervous system and cause brain damage in the child.

Early in the pandemic, COVID-19 was described as an infection of the respiratory system. The progress of studies, however, has showed that the disease could also affect other organs—like the kidneys and the heart. The concern about the nervous system, in turn, stems from neurological manifestations observed in certain cases. Strokes and encephalitis have been reported in patients with COVID-19. “Neurological manifestations are probably to to the side effects of an immunological response to the virus,” the study suggests.