COVID Increases Risk Of Long-Term Brain Injury

Female patient having consultation with neurologist in office

Photo: Getty Images

A new study published in the journal Nature Medicine shows that people who have been infected with COVID-19 have an increased risk of long-term brain injury, Reuters reported.

Researchers with the Washington University School of Medicine found that people with COVID were 80% more likely to have seizures. They also have a 77% higher risk of suffering from memory loss and are 50% more likely to have an ischemic stroke.

The researchers estimated that COVID has resulted in more than 6.6 million new cases of neurological disorders in the United States and 40 million additional cases around the world.

"We evaluated 44 brain and other neurologic disorders among both nonhospitalized and hospitalized patients, including those admitted to the intensive care unit. The results show the devastating long-term effects of COVID-19. These are part and parcel of long COVID. The virus is not always as benign as some people think it is," senior author Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, a clinical epidemiologist at Washington University, said in a press release.


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