Study Shows COVID-19 May Infect Brain Cells, Possibly Killing Nearby Neurons

A new study recently showed that the coronavirus that's causing COVID-19 could penetrate the star-shaped cells found in the brain, igniting a chain of reactions that may incapacitate and even kill nearby neurons.

This said new research posted on medRxiv preprint database on February 7, has not yet been peer-reviewed, and according to Live Science, an expert said, "this is a very preliminary data" that have yet to be confirmed along with additional studies, specifically in regards to the death of neurons seen in laboratory dishes.

The star-shaped cells also known as "astrocytes," has a lot of roles in the nervous system and provide neurons with fuel, which deliver signals in the entire body and brain.

In a laboratory dish, the study investigators discovered that infested astrocytes ceased from generating important fuel for neurons and concealed an undetermined substance, poisoning nearby neurons.

In their paper, the study authors specified that, infected astrocytes function similarly in the brain, "that could explain some of the structural changes" observed in the brains of patients, and some of the so-called "brain fog" and psychiatric problems that appear to accompany some COVID-19 cases.

ALSO READ: 'Worrying' Mutation Detected in the UK

(Photo : Siegfried Modola/Getty Images)
The analyze the 81 patients who had mild infections, the research team took MRI or magnetic resonance imaging scans of their brains and made a comparison with over 140 patients who had no history of COVID-19.

Penetrating into Astrocytes

According to Daniel Martins-de-Souza, the study author and an associate professor and the proteomics head in the Department of Biochemistry at Brazil-based University of Campinas, the main message conveyed in the paper is that the virus can "get there, into astrocytes," adding, it does not get there every time, although "it can get there."

Other research materials have discovered that the coronavirus can directly infect neurons too, even though the exact route of the virus into the brain remains under examination.

Furthermore, the new research may contribute astrocytes to the long list of cells that this COVID-19-causing coronavirus attacks, although many questions about the disease and the brain is still left unanswered, explained the study investigators.

COVID-19 Patients' Brains Studied

The new research gathered data from three sources including cells found in lab dishes, brain tissue collected from decease patients and brain scans done to living COVID-19 patients who had recovered from mild infections.

Neurology and ophthalmology professor, Dr. Maria Nagel, from the University of Colorado School of Medicine said, with the stark differences presented between each arm of the research, she thinks "it is difficult to compare the study's mild diseases portion to the severe disease cohort."

Dr. Nagel, who was not part of the research explained that in other words, changes in brain observed in mild infection may not be brought by similar mechanisms as the ones seen in tissue from deceased COVID-19 patients.

The analyze the 81 patients who had mild infections, the research team took MRI or magnetic resonance imaging scans of their brains and made a comparison with over 140 patients who had no history of COVID-19.

As a result, the researchers discovered that specific regions of the cerebral cortex, the brain' wrinkled surface responsible for multifaceted processes like perception and memory, exhibited substantial differences when it comes to thickness between the two participating groups.

What they found, Dr. Clarissa Lin Yasuda, the study author said, "was surprising." Yasuda is an assistant professor at the University of Campinas' Department of Neurosurgery and Neurology.

Brain Damage Found in 5 of 26 Patients

To understand further how frequent and how extensively this coronavirus type penetrates the brain, the research team collected samples of brains from 26 patients who died of the virus. As a result, brain damage was detected in five of the dead patients.

The damage comprised patches of dead brain tissue, as well as markers of infection. Remarkably, the team was able to detect too, SARS-CoV-2 genetic material, as well as the viral 'spike protein,' sticking off the surface of the virus, in all five of the brains of the patients. Such study findings specify that their brain cells were infected directly by the coronavirus strain.

Consequently, as indicated in the study, most of the cells infected were astrocytes, then, "followed by neurons." This implied that, once SARS-CoV-2 approaches the brain, astrocytes may be more vulnerable to infection compared to neurons, explained Martins-de-Souza.

READ NEXT: UK May Be the First Country to Authorize COVID-19 Vaccine

Check out more news and information on COVID-19 on Science Times.