No signs of brain injury post-acute COVID-19, study finds

Date:
August 5, 2021
Source:
University of Gothenburg
Summary:
A recent study has shown that all participants achieve normalization
of CNS injury biomarkers, regardless of previous disease severity
or persistent neurological symptoms, indicating that post-COVID-19
neurological sequalae are not due to active brain injury.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
In a recent study from University of Gothenburg, it has been shown
that all participants achieve normalization of CNS injury biomarkers, regardless of previous disease severity or persistent neurological
symptoms, indicating that post-COVID-19 neurological sequalae are not
due to active brain injury.


========================================================================== Central nervous system involvement and signs of brain injury have been described since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. A previous
study from the same group showed that hospitalized patients receiving
oxygen therapy or ICU care often had signs of brain damage by measuring blood-based biomarker of brain injury.

In addition, in recent months it has been increasingly evident that after
the acute phase of COVID-19, many patients still suffer from persisting neurologic disability. This often includes lethargy, fatigue, or impaired cognitive function. This consequence is now termed post COVID condition.

The mechanism behind how COVID-19 causes persisting neurological symptoms
is still not fully understood. In a follow-up study, the researchers
aimed to investigate the longitudinal trajectories of the same plasma biomarkers in patients who have recovered from COVID-19, with and without persisting neurological symptoms.

Normalization of markers The study presented in EBioMedicine recruited 100 COVID-19 patients from the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. The study population was divided into groups according to
disease severity: mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19. Blood samples
were collected at an interval of acute phase of the disease, 3- and
6-months post-infection. At the acute phase, patients who required hospitalization and were receiving oxygen therapy or mechanical
ventilation showed an increase of NfL (neurofilament light chain
protein), a biomarker that increases with neuronal injury, and GFAp
(glial fibrillary acidic protein), a biomarker that indicates astrocytic
injury or overactivation. At follow-up, all biomarkers returned to their
normal baseline values.

In addition, at 3- and 6-months clinical follow-up, 50 patients out of the
100 recruited individuals reported one or more neurological symptoms, the
most common symptoms were fatigue, "brain-fog," and cognitive impairment,
such as memory loss and lack of concentration. Remarkably, there were no difference in frequency of any symptoms among the disease severity groups.

Further research important "The findings in this study puts an emphasis
on the importance of further research that needs to validate the scale of persisting neurological symptoms and recovery, but also to investigate
the true cause of this condition. This is of high importance from a
scientific and public health point of view in search for better care of
this patient group," says the first author Nelly Kanberg, PhD student at
the Infectious Disease at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg
and resident medical doctor at the Department of Infectious Disease, Sahlgrenska University Hospital.

Magnus Gissle'n, Professor of Infectious Diseases at the Sahlgrenska
Academy and chief physician at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, leads the Academy's clinical research on COVID-19. The results of this study are, in his view, of great importance
and encouraging for patients with long-lasting symptoms after COVID-19.

"Neurological complications are common in COVID-19 and can in some
patients continue several months after the acute phase. It is reassuring
that elevated concentrations of brain-injury markers return to normal 3-6 months after the acute phase of COVID-19 indicating that no continuous
brain damage is present and that there is a good chance for recovery also
in patients with remaining post-acute neurologic and cognitive symptoms," Gissle'n says.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Gothenburg. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Nelly Kanberg, Joel Simre'n, Arvid Ede'n, Lars-Magnus Andersson,
Staffan
Nilsson, Nicholas J. Ashton, Pa"r-Daniel Sundvall, Bengt Nellgaard,
Kaj Blennow, Henrik Zetterberg, Magnus Gissle'n. Neurochemical signs
of astrocytic and neuronal injury in acute COVID-19 normalizes
during long- term follow-up. EBioMedicine, 2021; 70: 103512 DOI:
10.1016/ j.ebiom.2021.103512 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210805104507.htm

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