New Delhi:
SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the coronavirus pandemic, remains in the skull and meninges for years after infection, causing long-term effects on the brain, according to a major German study.
Researchers from Helmholtz München and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) have found that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein remains in the protective layers of the brain (meninges, cranial marrow) for up to four years after infection.
The researchers found that these spike proteins are responsible for causing chronic inflammation and increasing the risk of neurodegenerative diseases in affected individuals.
Professor Ali Erturk, director of the Institute for Intelligent Biotechnology at Helmholtz Munich, said that long-term neurological effects include “accelerated aging of the brain, resulting in the loss of healthy brain function for five to 10 years in affected individuals.” This could lead to the loss of
The study, published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, suggests that long-term neurological symptoms of coronavirus infection may also be seen, such as headaches, sleep disturbances, “brain fog” and cognitive impairment.
About 5% to 10% of people infected with the new coronavirus are likely to experience long-term COVID-19 infection, and about 400 million people may carry large amounts of the spike protein.
In particular, researchers said the vaccine against the deadly virus significantly reduces the accumulation of spike protein in the brain.
However, that reduction is “only about 50 percent in mice, and the spike protein remains, which continues to pose a toxic risk to the brain.”
For this study, the team developed a new AI-powered imaging technique to understand how the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein affects the brain.
The method, which visualizes viral proteins in three dimensions, was introduced to find the previously undetectable distribution of the spike protein in tissue samples from coronavirus patients and mice.
The researchers found that levels of the spike protein in the bone marrow and meninges of the skull were significantly elevated, even years after infection.
The spike protein binds to so-called ACE2 receptors and is particularly abundant in these regions.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
