Covid-19 patients appear to have neurological problems, one of which is stroke.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Strokes, delirium, anxiety disorders, to fatigue are some conditions that can occur in people who are infected corona virus new type (Covid-19). This shows more clearly that the disease also triggers a large number of neurological problems, not just respiratory pain.
Reported BBCPaul Mylrea of the University of Cambridge, England is a person who has had a stroke twice, caused by Covid-19. The 64-year-old man feels lucky to be healthy again, even though the condition of the right side of the body is still quite weak.
Mylrea became a patient who recovered with extraordinary, as recorded in the history of the National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) in the Capital City of London, England. The first stroke occurred when he was treated at the University College Hospital.
A potentially deadly blood clot is also found in the lungs and legs. He was then given a high-dose blood thinning medication (anticoagulant).
A few days later, he suffered a second stroke, even worse so that he was immediately transferred to NHNN on Queen Square. Mylrea is experiencing a severe condition because of clots that occur seizing vital areas of blood supply to the brain.
Tests show that Mylrea has a very high marker level for the amount of clotting in the blood known as D-dimer. Usually, this D-dimer is less than 300.
In stroke patients, the level can increase to 1,000. Mylrea’s level at that time was more than 80 thousand.
“I have never seen this level of blood clotting before, something about her body’s response to infection has caused her blood to become very sticky,” said Arvind Chandratheva, a neurologist who handles Mylrea.
During the restrictions rule (lockdown) enacted in the United Kingdom, a reported decrease in the number of patients receiving emergency stroke. However, within two weeks, neurologists at NHNN treated six patients Covid-19 who suffered a major stroke.
The condition is said to be unrelated to the usual risk factors for stroke, such as high blood pressure or diabetes. In each case, the team of doctors at NHNN saw very high blood clotting rates.
Part of the trigger for stroke is a massive overreaction by the immune system that causes inflammation in the body and brain. Chandratheva projects an image of Mylrea’s brain, where it highlights a large area of damage, which is displayed as white blurring, affecting his vision, memory, coordination, and verbal.
The stroke was so large that the doctor thought he might not survive or become very deformed. Mylrea even said the doctors had told her family that there was not much they could do.
“Somehow I survived and got stronger,” Mylrea explained.
One other encouraging thing is the ability of the Mylrea language. He can again speak in six languages and quickly does so.
Mylrea said, he could not read as fast as usual and sometimes became forgetful. However, that is not surprising given the area of damage in his brain. His physical recovery is also impressive, which doctors have linked to previous high levels of fitness.
“I usually ride for one hour a day, do several sports sessions a week and swim in the river. My biking and diving days are over, but I hope to swim again,” Mylrea said.
A study in Lancet Psychiatry found brain complications in 125 seriously ill Covid-19 patients in a British hospital. Nearly half suffer from stroke due to blood clots, while others experience brain inflammation, psychosis, or symptoms similar to dementia.
One study author, Tom Solomon of the University of Liverpool said that the new type of corona virus clearly causes problems in the brain. At first, the research team thought the disease was only about the lung, which was caused by lack of oxygen to the brain.
“But it seems that there are many other factors, such as problems with blood clotting and hyper-inflammatory responses from the immune system. We also have to ask whether the virus itself infects the brain, “Solomon said.
In Canada, neuroscientist Adrian Owen has launched a global online study of how a new type of corona virus affects cognition. He said, Covid-19 patients who experience severe conditions and must be treated in the ICU are vulnerable to cognitive impairment.
So, as the number of Covid-19 patients recovering continues to increase, it becomes increasingly clear that getting out of the ICU is not the end for them. Owen said that this was only the beginning of recovery.
SARS and MERS, both of which are caused by the corona virus, are associated with several neurological diseases, but scientists have never seen anything like this before. The closest comparison is the 1918 flu pandemic. Researchers see that there are many brain diseases and problems that have arisen over the next 10 to 20 years.
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