Age Wise

Even Mild Covid-19 Causes Brain Damage

New findings could lead to a better understanding of how the brain ages, normally and otherwise

Image: Pixabay/Gerd Altmann

Normal aging comes with some loss of gray matter, the stuff in the brain where neurons process information. But new brain imaging reveals that Covid-19 accelerates that process in some parts of the brain, reducing the volume of gray matter and affecting thought processing.

While it’s not yet clear if the damage will prove lasting, the results along with further study could eventually help scientists better understand normal brain aging, the damage that causes dementia, and the extent to which such damage can be prevented or reversed.

Among the key findings:

• People who’d had Covid-19 lost more gray matter, on average, compared with people who had not been infected. The atrophy was most evident in the cerebellum, and brain structure linked to cognition.
• Those with Covid-19 also did worse on cognitive tests, involving complex tasks, after their recovery compared to those who had not contracted the disease.
• The results held true even for people with relatively mild Covid-19 symptoms.
• Damage included areas related to the sense of…