According to a preliminary study published in the Lancet Psychiatry journal on Thursday, Covid-19 can damage the brain, causing complications such as stroke, inflammation, psychosis and dementia-like symptoms in some severe cases.
This is the first detailed look at a range of neurological complications of COVID-19.
“This (is) an important snapshot of the brain-related complications of COVID-19 in hospitalised patients. It is critically important that we continue to collect this information to really understand this virus fully,” said Sarah Pett, a University College London professor who co-led the work.
Data was collected between April 2 and April 26 – when the disease was spreading exponentially in the UK.
The study focused on patients treated in UK hospitals during the exponential phase of the Covid-19 pandemic in April.
Michael and colleagues asked specialist doctors to report clinical details of Covid-19 patients, who were experiencing a range of neurological and psychiatric complications that were potentially linked to the disease.
Of the 125 cases reported in detail, the most common brain complication observed was stroke, which was reported in 77 patients. Of these, 57 patients had a stroke caused by a blood clot in the brain, known as an ischaemic stroke, nine patients had a stroke caused by a brain haemorrhage, and one patient had a stroke caused by inflammation in the blood vessels of the brain.
“There have been growing reports of an association between Covid-19 infection and possible neurological or psychiatric complications, but until now these have typically been limited to studies of 10 patients or fewer,” said Benedict Michael, the lead author of the study, from the University of Liverpool. “Ours is the first nationwide study of neurological complications associated with Covid-19, but it is important to note that it is focused on cases that are severe enough to require hospitalisation.”
The most common brain complication seen was stroke, which was reported in 77 of 125 patients. Of these, most were in patients over 60, and most were caused by a blood clot in the brain, known as an ischaemic stroke.
The study is small and based on doctors’ observations, so it does not provide a clear overall picture about the rate of such complications. However, medical experts say the findings highlight the need to investigate the possible effects of Covid-19 in the brain and studies to explore potential treatments.
