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The serious risk of coronavirus to the brain is revealed

About the danger of infection for the central nervous system, The Conversation writes.

According to the scientist, in the vast majority of cases, COVID-19 is a respiratory infection that causes fever, sore throat, cough, and in more serious cases shortness of breath and respiratory distress. However, coronavirus is also able to infect other tissues, causing symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, impaired heart function and blood clotting.

However, the infection also affects the brain. Cases of development in patients with COVID-19 syndrome have been described. Guillain-Barre, when the immune system, in response to infection, mistakenly attacks peripheral nerve cells. This leads first to muscle weakness, and then to paralysis. In other cases, coronavirus caused severe encephalitis with inflammation and swelling of the brain, as well as acute circulatory disturbance in the brain tissue (stroke).

In general, neurological symptoms of varying severity are observed in 36 percent of patients who complain of headache, dizziness, loss of taste and smell, convulsions and hallucinations. These manifestations were more often observed in severe cases of the disease and persisted after recovery.

SARS-CoV-2 is able to cross the blood-brain barrier, which separates the circulatory and central nervous systems, and directly infect the brain. Neurological symptoms occur either due to direct exposure of the virus to nerve tissue, or due to excessive activation of the immune system. The olfactory neurons in the nose can serve as another way for infection to enter the brain.

Other pathogens, such as influenza, measles, respiratory syncytial viruses and seasonal coronaviruses, for example, HCoV-OC43. However, infection in the central nervous system is relatively rare.

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