Some Coronavirus Patients Show Signs of Brain Ailments

[Annikki]

The New York Times reported today that Covid-19 causes neurological problems. This finding suggests the virus could aggravate ME symptoms. A New York Times article about neurological problems from Covid-19:

"Some Coronavirus Patients Show Signs of Brain Ailments"
Doctors have observed neurological symptoms, including confusion, stroke and seizures, in a small subset of Covid-19 patients.

Neurologists around the world say that a small subset of patients with Covid-19 are developing serious impairments of the brain.
Although fever, cough and difficulty breathing are the typical hallmarks of infection with the new coronavirus, some patients exhibit altered mental status, or encephalopathy, a catchall term for brain disease or dysfunction that can have many underlying causes, as well as other serious conditions. These neurological syndromes join other unusual symptoms, such as diminished sense of smell and taste as well as heart ailments.
In early March, a 74-year-old man came to the emergency room in Boca Raton, Fla., with a cough and a fever, but an X-ray ruled out pneumonia and he was sent home. The next day, when his fever spiked, family members brought him back. He was short of breath, and could not tell doctors his name or explain what was wrong — he had lost the ability to speak.
The patient, who had chronic lung disease and Parkinson’s, was flailing his arms and legs in jerky movements, and appeared to be having a seizure. Doctors suspected he had Covid-19, and were eventually proven right when he was finally tested.

On Tuesday, doctors in Detroit reported another disturbing case involving a female airline worker in her late 50s with Covid-19. She was confused, and complained of a headache; she could tell the physicians her name but little else, and became less responsive over time. Brain scans showed abnormal swelling and inflammation in several regions, with smaller areas where some cells had died.
Physicians diagnosed a dangerous condition called acute necrotizing encephalopathy, a rare complication of influenza and other viral infections.
These domestic reports follow similar observations by doctors in Italy and other parts of the world, of Covid-19 patients having strokes, seizures, encephalitis-like symptoms and blood clots, as well as tingling or numbness in the extremities, called acroparesthesia. In some cases, patients were delirious even before developing fever or respiratory illness, according to Dr. Alessandro Padovani, whose hospital at University of Brescia in Italy opened a separate NeuroCovid unit to care for patients with neurological conditions.
The patients who come in with encephalopathy are confused and lethargic and may appear dazed, exhibiting strange behavior or staring off into space. They may be having seizures that require immediate medical care, and experts are warning health care providers who treat such patients to recognize that they may have Covid-19 and to take precautions to protect themselves from infection.
Read more here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/...&module=trending&pgtype=Article&region=Footer

 

[starryeyes]

Thank you for posting this Annikki. With all that's going on it's really hard to keep up. Now we know what other signs to look for in ourselves and loved ones. Take care.

 

[Wishful]

I suppose they didn't bother to mention whether brain aliments were any more common from c-19 than from any other virus. I expect that most if not all viral infection pose some risk of additional problems with brain inflammation.

Next top news story: "Covid-19 makes some people feel unwell!!!!!"

 

[lauluce]

I suppose they didn't bother to mention whether brain aliments were any more common from c-19 than from any other virus. I expect that most if not all viral infection pose some risk of additional problems with brain inflammation.

Next top news story: "Covid-19 makes some people feel unwell!!!!!"

my exact thoughts!!! it wouldn't be surprising if even common cold could, on few ocassions, cause some sort of detectable brain anomalies

 

[Annikki]

Thank you for posting this Annikki. With all that's going on it's really hard to keep up. Now we know what other signs to look for in ourselves and loved ones. Take care.

You are welcome. Neurological symptoms are concerning. Maybe combining what we already know about neurological disease with the data on Covid-19, we can learn something useful.