COVID-19, caused by the super infectious SARS-COV-2 virus is more than just a respiratory virus which attacks your body, some of which can be super scary for your cognitive health as well.

To put things into perspective, coronavirus’s impact on the brain, which is core to our functioning can be quite profound. Studies have stipulated that a COVID-19 attack can age a person’s brain by upto 10 years, and make them experience symptoms like brain fog, memory loss and mood swings. Nearly 1 in 5 COVID-19 can also go on to experience mental illnesses and a change in the quality of life.

COVID-19 could spread through the nose

How does the SARS-COV-2 invade the brain and cause extensive damage has been puzzling medical minds. However, newer investigations have now revealed that the answer to this might lay in our nose, where COVID-19 could enter from.

According to a recent study, neurological damage may not just be a sign of a COVID-19 infection getting worse, but how, the virus can unleash problems by stemming out from the nose and spread to the brain.

A new study which has been published in the journal, Nature Neuroscience now points out possible signs, and an explanation for this unpredictable behaviour. It could, perhaps also be a reason why COVID-19 leads to some confusing, rare symptoms.

Findings of the study

According to scientists, one reason as to how COVID-19 can invade your brain is by entering the bloodstream through mucosal membranes present in the nose- which could also happen when a person does not wear a mask properly and keeps the nose exposed.

For the same, scientists studied autopsies of 33 patients in Germany who died due to COVID-19 and analyzed samples of mucus at the back of the nose and brain tissue, interconnected with each other.

It was observed that the genetic material of the novel coronavirus was present along the mucosal walls and the spike proteins, which facilitate viral replication, were also to be found in the brain tissues.

Scientists then concluded that the virus uses the body’s olfactory nerves and cells to attack the nervous system, and eventually, parts of the brain, leading to a host of neural deficits and problems. It was also observed that the cerebral fluid present in the brain contained traces of the immune cells, which get activated upon infection, Times of India.