By Liz Seegert, Next Avenue contributor
Researchers have entered a global effort to read about the long-term effects of Covid-19 on the brain. Scientific leaders from more than 25 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America, with the recommendation of the Organization. World Health. , they are reading the neurological headaches related to the coronavirus.
There are many questions left about the virus’s ability to cross the blood brain barrier, the immune response of the brain and there is a lasting effect on the brain, cognition and function, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, which provided an initial investment for the effort.
“The epidemic is only six or seven months old, so we still can’t say the long-term benefits,” said Dr. Gabriel de Erausquin of the Glenn Biggs Institute of Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of Texas, San Antonio and a professor of neurology.”We need to be at the forefront of minimizing the effect, predicting who is the maximum in danger, and looking to identify behaviors or other points that can help us reduce the effect on older patients.”
The exam recruits adults of all ages with shown cases of Covid-19 who have been discharged from the hospital; will be evaluated in periods of six, nine and 18 months. Researchers will examine problems such as socioeconomic situations and behaviors that indicate the risk of disease, and modifiers that can progress the disease. More importantly, he said of Erausquin, they will look for symptoms of new or ongoing brain-related problems, such as seizures, strokes or loss of brain function.
(Read Next Avenue’s Covid-19 policy to keep older generations informed and prepared.)
Anticipates that initial case analysis in New York and Seattle may be available until the end of the year.
Other participants in existing foreign studies or who are components of national physical fitness registries in countries such as Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands will be evaluated for further measurements and potential biomarkers have a Covid-19 effect on the brain, assuming that a full analysis must be reversed, erausquin said.
He noted that Covid-19 occurs differently in the elderly population, with symptoms such as confusion, acute loss of smell or taste, or behavioral adjustments such as detachment or estrangement, possibly without fever.
Previous studies show that loss of smell and taste tends to accompany degenerative brain disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, but tends to occur gradually over time.Coronavirus also affects smell and taste, especially in the elderly; however, symptoms appear faster.
“So there are reasons to take it seriously and not just to see it as a passing symptom, like nasal congestion,” he said of Erausquin.”It’s a precautionary sign that the brain is invaded by the virus.”While sensory loss also occurs in younger patients, it is more severe in other older people because they have fewer reserves.
While only new studies on brain adjustments caused by the virus are being prepared, existing brain studies, especially for medications that can prevent, stop or treat Alzheimer’s disease, may have been delayed for years, said Professor Dr. Gregory Jicha and director.Alzheimer’s Clinic at Sanders Brown Institute on Aging, University of Kentucky.
Participants are the key to any drug trial and, since Covid-19 directs much of its fury toward the elderly, it is difficult to recruit and retain this population for vital drug studies and brain fitness, such as the Next Avenue article, “How Alzheimer’s clinical trials became victims of Covid-19,” he explained.
Many clinical trials have been particularly interrupted, according to Jicha.Any threat of discontinuation in the management of treatments will have an effect on the drugs being tested lately, as well as on prospective approvals of new drugs.”These are diseases, like Alzheimer’s that we just can’t afford,” Jicha said.
There may also be disorders that interpret the negative effects of control.For example: does a drug simply not work or are the effects sesagging due to interference with protocols?
Jicha stated that he and his people were doing everything they could to ensure the protection of test participants at his clinic, adding social distance, installing plexiglass barriers, checking temperature and visitors, and conducting covid-19 tests ongoing.
“Without this kind of genuine confidence in protective measures, we just won’t see other people enter the cinput, even if they’re potentially testing drugs for Alzheimer’s disease,” Jicha said.”Our other people are very engaged, but we are starting to see the number of other people who are willing to participate right now, from one hundred percent of those with clinical symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease to about eighty-five percent.”
Currently, Covid-19 poses a higher risk to them than Alzheimer’s disease.
“We are going to see millions of people die each year from Alzheimer’s disease, and that is something we cannot let happen.”
But additional studies on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias remain crucial, Jicha said.Without minimizing the effect of Covid-19, he noted that the virus kills about 4% of other people inflamed; however, 100 percent of other people.with Alzheimer’s disease, nearly six million more people in the United States and about 50 million worldwide will die from the disease.
Some clinical trials expected to begin have had consecutive delays due to persistent coronavirus-related uncertainty.A big challenge: recruitment. According to Jicha, it is difficult to recruit enough older adults to generally participate in long-term trials, and this effort is now even more complicated.
About a portion of older adults recruited lately for long-term trials refused.”This will create even more bottlenecks to advance clinical drug trials and drug portfolio,” Jicha said.
He is involved in the that delays in trials can lead to a lasting reaction among the elderly population and among minority populations, any of whom are at risk of Covid-19 headaches.
“We’re not going to move anything forward, we’re not going to have any new drugs.We’ll see millions of people die every year from Alzheimer’s disease, and that’s something we just can’t let happen.”Jicha said.
Meanwhile, caregivers are not only aware of the possible symptoms of Covid-19 infection in their older relatives, but are also aware of the progression of chronic diseases such as central disease, diabetes and dementia.
“Don’t wait for fever or flu-like symptoms; can wait indefinitely,” Jicha says.”And don’t be afraid to seek medical assistance for other disorders for fear of getting Covid.”
However, many others insist on staying home, despite the precautionary symptoms of a center attack or stroke; some die before they even succeed in the hospital.
Jicha’s recommendation to caregivers: don’t expect a crisis, be proactive, perceive what’s going on with those they enjoy, especially for others with dementia, and pay attention to any sudden adjustments in behavior or physicality.
Next Avenue is the first and only national public media journalism service for America’s growing elderly population.Our content provides ideas, context and
Next Avenue is the first and only national public media journalism service for America’s growing elderly population.Our content provides important insights, context, and insights into the issues that matter to the fullest as we age.