UK Scientists Warn: Coronavirus Could Cause Wave of Brain Damage

UK scientists warned on Wednesday of a potential wave of coronavirus-related brain damage as new data indicated that the virus may lead to serious neurological problems including inflammation, psychosis, and delirium.

A study conducted at University College London ( UCL) listed 43 cases of coronavirus patients experiencing either temporary brain dysfunction, strokes, nerve damage, or other severe brain effects.

The report added the latest studies which highlighted that the disease can also affect the brain.

Michael Zandi, from UCL’s Institute of Neurology, who co-led the study, stated that whether we will see a large scale of brain damage linked to the pandemic remains to be seen.

Neuroscientists and specialist brain doctors say the emerging evidence of the impact of coronavirus on the brain is troubling.

The study, published in the Brain journal, found that nine patients with inflammation of the brain were diagnosed with a rare disorder called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) that is more frequently seen in children and can be caused by viral infections.

Adrian Owen, a neuroscientist at Western University in Canada noted that the emerging evidence underlined the need for large, detailed studies and global data collection to assess how common such neurological and psychiatric complications were.

The novel coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan, China, and has infected more than one million people and killed over 234,139 worldwide. It also hit several celebrities and top political figures around the world.

The virus is a new member of the Coronaviruses group, which was never identified in humans. The viruses’ family also includes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), which cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases.

Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. Humans and animals such as mammals and birds can be affected by the disease.

The name coronavirus is derived from the Latin corona, meaning “crown” or “halo”.

On February 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the official name for the disease caused by the new coronavirus is Covid-19, taken from the words “corona”, “virus” and “disease”.

In December 2019, an outbreak was reported in Wuhan, China. On 31 December 2019, the outbreak was traced to a novel strain of coronavirus, which was given the interim name 2019-nCoV by the World Health Organization (WHO), it was later renamed SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.

On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus a global pandemic as the new virus has rapidly spread to more than 800,000 people from Asia to the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.

Transmission of viruses between humans happens when someone comes into contact with an infected person’s secretions, such as droplets in a cough.

Coronavirus can also be transmitted by coming into contact with something an infected person has touched and then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes.

It is known that older people appear to be more vulnerable to the effects of the emerging virus.

The virus caused complete paralysis in all activities and events with large gatherings worldwide due to concerns over the spread of the virus.

People across the globe partake in self-isolation for 14 days as an effective precautionary measure to protect those around them and themselves from contracting COVID-19.