* Studies describe nerve damage, stroke, inflammation
* Scientists urge medics to be on look-out for brain effects
* Neuroscientist has launched large online research project
By Kate Kelland
LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) - Scientists warned on Wednesday of
a potential wave of coronavirus-related brain damage as new
evidence suggested COVID-19 can lead to severe neurological
complications, including inflammation, psychosis and delirium.
A study by researchers at University College London
(UCL)described 43 cases of patients with COVID-19 who suffered
either temporary brain dysfunction, strokes, nerve damage or
other serious brain effects.
The research adds to recent studies which also found the
disease can damage the brain.
"Whether we will see an epidemic on a large scale of brain
damage linked to the pandemic – perhaps similar to the
encephalitis lethargica outbreak in the 1920s and 1930s after
the 1918 influenza pandemic – remains to be seen," said Michael
Zandi, from UCL's Institute of Neurology, who co-led the study.
COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, is
largely a respiratory illness that affects the lungs, but
neuroscientists and specialist brain doctors say emerging
evidence of its impact on the brain is concerning.
"My worry is that we have millions of people with COVID-19
now. And if in a year's time we have 10 million recovered
people, and those people have cognitive deficits ... then that's
going to affect their ability to work and their ability to go
about activities of daily living," Adrian Owen, a neuroscientist
at Western University in Canada, told Reuters in an interview.
In the UCL study, published in the journal Brain, nine
patients who had brain inflammation were diagnosed with a rare
condition called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM)
which is more usually seen in children and can be triggered by
viral infections.
The team said it would normally see about one adult patient
with ADEM per month at their specialist London clinic, but this
had risen to at least one a week during the study period,
something they described as "a concerning increase".
"Given that the disease has only been around for a matter of
months, we might not yet know what long-term damage COVID-19 can
cause," said Ross Paterson, who co-led the study. "Doctors need
to be aware of possible neurological effects, as early diagnosis
can improve patient outcomes."
Owen said the emerging evidence underlined the need for
large, detailed studies and global data collection to assess how
common such neurological and psychiatric complications were.
He is running a international research project at
covidbrainstudy.com where patients can sign up to complete a
series of cognitive tests to see whether their brain functions
have altered since getting COVID-19.
"This disease is affecting an enormous number of people,"
Owen said. "That's why it's so important to collect this
information now."
(Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Alison Williams)