Covid Brain

As more and more information becomes available to us about this terrible virus, it seems that damage to the brain has been done even within those that had a very mild infection.  

Oxford University has completed the first major study of brain scans taken before Covid 19 (this was done for an unrelated issue) and then afterwards in order to determine the affect that Covid has had on the brain.  They found that the patients’ brain had shrunk and they had damage in the cognition and smell areas of the brain months after their infection.

I myself had a mild Covid infection but it has definitely left me feeling a bit slower, I cant quite get the word even though I knew what I wanted to say when I started the sentence.  As a person in Menopause and with ADHD it can be really quite embarrassing and another brain issue is really not appreciated.

The study looked at 785 people between the ages of 51 and 81.  Half of the 785 caught Covid 19 in between their scans.  Compared to those who were not infected with Covid 19 a clear pattern was seen with shrinkage of both brain and grey matter.

Those who had Covid between scans had a 1.8% shrinkage in the parahippocampal gyrus which is a key area for smell and an additional shrinkage of 0.8% of the cerebellum.  This area of the brain is said to control motor function and it is increasingly being proved to affect cognition.  Those infected also typically scored lower on a mental skills test that the whole group did.

Researchers have likened this impact to between 1 and 10 years of ageing and yet 99% of those in the study that caught Covid 19, were only mildly infected.

I am so glad we created this product and I am certainly taking Cognitively’s Focus blend.