Coronavirus invades the brain and causes adverse effects, says study

It would seem that the SARS-CoV-2 virus does not only enter the respiratory system, but it has the capacity to breach the blood barriers and lodge itself in the brain.

A study titled, "The S1 protein of SARS-CoV-2 crosses the blood–brain barrier in mice" conducted by researchers at the University of Washington Health Sciences/UW Medicine and published in the journal Nature Neuroscience revealed that more patients who are suffering from COVID-19 are now experiencing fatigue and brain fog, both of which are cognitive issues.

Researchers found out that the spike protein of the coronavirus, which is usually depicted in illustrations as the arms of the virus, has the capability to cross the blood-brain barrier found in mice. Due to this discovery, researchers are strongly suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 can enter the brain. The researchers noted that the spike protein or the S1 protein is the one responsible for telling the virus which cell it can enter.

William A. Banks, corresponding author and professor of medicine at UWSM, said that the virus would normally do the same thing as the protein that binds it to the cells. Normally, the binding proteins such as the S1 would cause damage. They have the capability to detach themselves and bring about inflammation which health experts have been referring to as a cytokine storm.

What happens when a cytokine storm ensues is that the immune system will then overreact and attempt to kill the virus and its proteins. When this happens in the brain, the patient is left with brain fog and fatigue. It also leads to cognitive issues.

Banks noted that experts have already seen this effect in HIV,. Wanting to find out if the same would happen to SARS-CoV-2, they tested it on mice. They found that the S1 proteins grab on to other receptors and crosses the blood-brain barrier. This then becomes toxic for the tissues of the brain.

Banks also said that it is known that COVID-19 can cause infection in the lungs. He then added that an additional explanation could be that the virus also enters the brain's respiratory centers and could cause problems there too.

Coronavirus Enters Brain

Banks also had a message to those who are not taking the virus seriously. He said that people would not want to mess with it. He noted that many of the effects of SARS-CoV-2 may have been caused by the virus entering the brain and the effects could be long-term.