covid-19 may cross into brain, research suggests

it all comes down to the spike protein or s1 — the prickly-looking shoot seen coming out of the cell in diagrams of virus. in a study  published in the journal nature neuroscience, researchers from the university of washington found covid-19 crossed the blood-brain barrier in mice, most likely because of the spike protein.

the blood-brain barrier helps protect the brain from toxins and pathogens that may be travelling in the blood, but still lets nutrients pass through to the brain. according to the university of queensland,  it acts as a “barrier between the brain’s blood vessels (capillaries) and the cells and other components that make up brain tissue.” blood-barrier dysfunction has been linked to meningitis, multiple sclerosis, stroke and epilepsy.

lead study author william a. banks, a professor of medicine at the university of washington school of medicine, said in a news release that proteins such as s1 can cause damage when they detach from the virus. this leads to inflammation, and even a cytokine storm, where the immune system switches into high gear in an attempt to crush the virus. this can cause cognitive issues such as brain fog and fatigue.

individuals suffering symptoms of the virus months after the infection have reported brain fog and extreme fatigue, as well as short-term memory loss. how serious can cognitive issues get after infection? one covid-19 long hauler told healthing in a previous interview : “i’d literally forget what to do with a door and not know how to close the shower door. i’d have to write everything down or i’d forget it.”