Blood markers associated with brain damage seen in hospitalized COVID-19 patients
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients present with high levels of certain blood proteins associated with brain damage, according to a new study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
The study, conducted over two months in the early stages of the pandemic, included 251 patients with a median age of 71 years old. All patients had no prior history of cognitive decline or dementia before they were hospitalized with COVID-19.
In the analysis, researchers discovered increased levels of seven different markers of brain damage in COVID-19 patients who presented with neurological symptoms. The levels were even higher levels in patients who went on to die while hospitalized.
“Our findings suggest that patients hospitalized for COVID-19, and especially in those experiencing neurological symptoms during their acute infection, may have levels of brain injury markers that are as high as, or higher than, those seen in patients with Alzheimer’s disease,” lead author Jennifer A. Frontera, MD, a professor in the department of neurology at NYU Langone Health, said in a prepared statement.
A second analysis confirmed that the hospitalized COVID-19 patients, over the short term, had higher levels of these proteins than patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
“Traumatic brain injury, which is also associated with increases in these biomarkers, does not mean that a patient will develop Alzheimer’s or related dementia later on, but does increase the risk of it,” said senior author Thomas M. Wisniewski, MD, the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman Professor in the department of neurology and director of the Center for Cognitive Neurology at NYU Langone, in a statement. “Whether that kind of relationship exists in those who survive severe COVID-19 is a question we urgently need to answer with on-going monitoring of these patients.”
Read the full study here.