Long-term effects of COVID-19: Study shows virus spike protein remains in the brain for years

iNDICA NEWS BUREAU

According to a large study by researchers in Germany, SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the Covid-19 pandemic, remains in the skull and meninges years after infection, resulting in a long-lasting effect on the brain.

Researchers from the Helmholtz Center Munich and the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) found that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein remains in the protective layers of the brain – the meninges and the bone marrow of the skull – up to four years after infection – remains.

These spike proteins are responsible for triggering chronic inflammation in affected individuals and increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases, the team found.

Prof. Ali Ertürk, director at the Institute for Intelligent Biotechnologies at the Helmholtz Center Munich, said the long-term neurological effects include “accelerated brain aging, potentially leading to five to 10 years of loss of healthy brain function in affected individuals.” “.

The study, published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, may also indicate neurological symptoms of long Covid such as headaches, sleep disorders and “brain fog” or cognitive impairment.

Around 5 to 10% of people infected with Covid are likely to develop long Covid illness – around 400 million people may carry a significant amount of the spike protein.

In particular, vaccines against the deadly virus significantly reduce the accumulation of the spike protein in the brain, the researchers said.

However, the reduction “was only about 50% in mice, leaving remnants of the spike protein that continues to pose a toxic risk to the brain.”

For the study, the team developed a novel AI-powered imaging technique to understand how the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein affects the brain.

The method, which allows three-dimensional visualization of viral proteins, was used to find previously undetectable distributions of spike protein in tissue samples from Covid-19 patients and mice.

The results showed significantly increased levels of spike protein in the bone marrow and meninges of the skull, even years after infection.

The spike protein binds to so-called ACE2 receptors, which are particularly common in these regions.