Decreased memory and problem-solving skills
Research has shown that even a mild case of COVID-19 can affect brain function.
A study published in eClinical Medicine found that COVID-19 can cause subtle cognitive changes in memory and problem-solving skills in healthy adults for up to a year.
In 2021, researchers at Imperial College London inoculated 34 healthy volunteer participants with the COVID-19 virus under controlled conditions. Eighteen participants were infected, with only mild illness and one asymptomatic. All participants remained at the facility until no longer infectious and underwent daily physiological measurements during the quarantine period and follow-up periods of 30, 90, 180, 270, and 360 days.
Participants also performed a series of tasks to measure several distinct aspects of brain function, including memory, planning, language, and problem solving.
Comparing infected participants with those who had been vaccinated but not infected, the results showed that infected participants had lower cognitive scores than uninfected participants both during infection and during follow-up. The main differences in scores were seen on memory and executive function tasks (including working memory, attention, and problem solving). Differences in scores between the two groups of participants were seen up to a year after infection, with the uninfected participants performing slightly better overall at work.
Senior author Professor Adam Hampshire, from the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London and currently based at King’s College London, said: “The results show that cognitive effects occur even in healthy individuals. There are treatments available to mitigate these effects. “It is necessary,” he said.
“The differences observed were not significant and none of the participants reported long-term cognitive symptoms,” the researchers said. “The small sample size and the fact that most participants were white men were limitations of the study.”
Source: kormedi.com
