Brain's Frontal Lobes Electrical Activity Potentially Impacted by COVID-19
Better Brain Waves: COVID-19 and the Neurology Connection
Having a headache or feeling confused? It might not just be a regular ol' flu. Reports suggest that up to a quarter of severe COVID-19 cases could be accompanied by neurological symptoms. And that's where our brains come in.
Doctors are turning to Electroencephalography (EEG) tests, a painless procedure that monitors the brain's electrical activity, to better understand the impact of the virus on our grey matter.
Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh analyzed EEG results from over 600 COVID-19 patients collected from 84 studies. One-third of the patients displayed abnormalities, with the frontal lobes being the most affected.
Dr. Zulfi Haneef, one of the study's co-authors, points out that the virus likely entering through the nose, the close proximity of the nasal cavity to the frontal lobes, might be one reason for this. But it's not all on COVID-19. Systemic effects of the infection can also damage the brain, such as inflammation, low oxygen levels, and cardiac arrest.
The most common EEG finding? A slowing of brain waves and abnormal electrical discharges–and the severity of the disease seems to correspond with the extent of these abnormalities. Furthermore, patients with pre-existing neurological conditions like epilepsy are at a higher risk.
Some survivors of COVID-19 have reported ongoing health issues, now known as 'long COVID'–and brain fog is one of them. While a recent study found that those who believe they had COVID-19 performed less well on cognitive tests compared to non-infected individuals, it does not prove that the infection caused long-term cognitive decline. However, the ongoing research does raise concerns about lasting brain effects.
On the bright side, approximately 56.8% of patients with follow-up EEG tests showed improvements. The researchers admit their analysis had limitations, such as lack of access to raw data from individual studies and the possible skewing of results due to doctors performing disproportionately more EEGs on patients with neurological symptoms.
So, what does it all mean? COVID-19 patients with neurological symptoms often show abnormal EEG results, especially a slowing of brain waves. While the virus may not be directly responsible for all the damage, systemic effects can play a role in neuronal abnormalities that extend beyond the frontal lobes. The presence of EEG abnormalities highlights the importance of neurological assessments in critically ill patients, and further research is crucial to better understand the long-term effects of COVID-19 on the brain.
[1] Exact percentage of patients displaying each EEG finding varies based on individual studies. For more detailed information, please refer to the source study.
- The COVID-19 virus, along with its systemic effects like inflammation and low oxygen levels, may contribute to neurological disorders such as epilepsy seizures, given the high percentage of patients displaying abnormal EEG results.
- In a study analyzing EEG results from over 600 COVID-19 patients, researchers found that a significant number of patients were diagnosed with health-and-wellness conditions related to the nervous system, including neurological disorders like epilepsy.
- The ongoing research on COVID-19 and its impact on the brain has brought to light the link between the coronavirus and various medical-conditions, particularly neurological disorders, highlighting the need for continuous scientific exploration of health-and-wellness challenges in patients recovering from the disease.
