Brain fog after COVID-19 is biologically similar to cognitive impairment caused by cancer chemotherapy, something doctors often refer to as 'chemo brain.'
May 22 2024Stanford Medicine Brain fog after COVID-19 is biologically similar to cognitive impairment caused by cancer chemotherapy, something doctors often refer to as "chemo brain." In both cases, excessive inflammation damages the same brain cells and processes, according to research led by Stanford University School of Medicine .
The overlap between what happens in COVID-19's cognitive aftermath and chemo brain, as it's colloquially known, could be good news for patients because it may speed research on treatments, Monje said. "The exciting message is that because the pathophysiology is so similar, the last couple of decades in cancer therapy-related research can guide us to treatments that may help COVID brain fog.
Many COVID-19 survivors experience cognitive impairment. Stanford research published in March 2021, covering the first year of the pandemic, found that about one in four COVID-19 patients had cognitive symptoms that lingered at least two months, even after mild infections.
Microglial reactivity was particularly high in the hippocampus, a brain center involved in learning and memory. The researchers found that one of the elevated chemokines called CCL11 can directly cause microglial reactivity specifically in the hippocampus. The formation of new neurons in the hippocampus of the mice was impaired, likely due to the cytokine changes and the increased reactivity of microglia.
The shorter-lasting and less-severe brain changes seen in mice after H1N1 infection are consistent with less prevalent reports of cognitive symptoms after this type of infection, highlighting that respiratory infections can change the brain even if the virus does not infect the brain, the researchers said.
Monje’s team is already conducting research on medications that could alleviate brain fog after chemotherapy, and they plan to investigate whether these drugs are helpful after SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Covid-19 Cancer Cell Chemotherapy Inflammation Medicine Myelin Nerve Neurology Pandemic Research Respiratory SARS SARS-Cov-2 Virus
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