Mary Wilson
Well-known member
June 15, 2022 — 4.23pm
By Melissa Cunningham
“Brain fog” has emerged as one of the most debilitating symptoms of long COVID, affecting thousands of people globally, impeding their ability to work and function in daily life.
Now, a group of Australian scientists believe they are closer to unlocking the mystery behind the lingering neurological condition, which can trigger memory loss, confusion, dizziness and headaches, and leave people grasping to recall everyday words.
The findings of their study, published this week in Nature Communications, suggest there may be distinct parallels between the effects of COVID-19 on the brain and the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
As part of the study, the researchers – led by Dr Nick Reynolds from the Institute for Molecular Science at Melbourne’s La Trobe University – used computer algorithms to identify small fragments of proteins (called peptides) in SARS-CoV-2.
Reynolds and his colleagues could then study these peptides in the lab, observing they had formed clumps, mirroring amyloid plaques found in the brain in the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia.
“What we saw is that they formed very similar amyloid clumps, which are basically just ordered assemblies of protein that are stuck together and considered ‘molecular hallmarks’ of the early stages of neurodegenerative disease,” he said.
“To cut a long story short, these amyloid plaques are very toxic to the brain cells and we hypothesise that aggregates of SARS-CoV-2 proteins may trigger neurological symptoms in COVID-19 that many of us call brain fog.”
If this is confirmed in future studies, Reynolds believes drugs developed to combat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s could be repurposed to revolutionise treatment for the debilitating neurological symptoms of long COVID. ...
https://www.smh.com.au/national/aus...and-long-covid-brain-fog-20220614-p5atnp.html
By Melissa Cunningham
“Brain fog” has emerged as one of the most debilitating symptoms of long COVID, affecting thousands of people globally, impeding their ability to work and function in daily life.
Now, a group of Australian scientists believe they are closer to unlocking the mystery behind the lingering neurological condition, which can trigger memory loss, confusion, dizziness and headaches, and leave people grasping to recall everyday words.
The findings of their study, published this week in Nature Communications, suggest there may be distinct parallels between the effects of COVID-19 on the brain and the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
As part of the study, the researchers – led by Dr Nick Reynolds from the Institute for Molecular Science at Melbourne’s La Trobe University – used computer algorithms to identify small fragments of proteins (called peptides) in SARS-CoV-2.
Reynolds and his colleagues could then study these peptides in the lab, observing they had formed clumps, mirroring amyloid plaques found in the brain in the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia.
“What we saw is that they formed very similar amyloid clumps, which are basically just ordered assemblies of protein that are stuck together and considered ‘molecular hallmarks’ of the early stages of neurodegenerative disease,” he said.
“To cut a long story short, these amyloid plaques are very toxic to the brain cells and we hypothesise that aggregates of SARS-CoV-2 proteins may trigger neurological symptoms in COVID-19 that many of us call brain fog.”
If this is confirmed in future studies, Reynolds believes drugs developed to combat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s could be repurposed to revolutionise treatment for the debilitating neurological symptoms of long COVID. ...
https://www.smh.com.au/national/aus...and-long-covid-brain-fog-20220614-p5atnp.html