SP scientists identify the relationship between infection with the coronavirus and its consequences such as depression, anxiety, and memory loss

The consequences of Covid-19 have been studied by scientists from around the world, and Brazilian researchers from USP, Unicamp and UFRJ have published a study that helps reveal how the disease affects the brain.

Covid passes, but for some people the consequences remain or take some time to pass: depression, anxiety and memory loss are some of the symptoms of the so-called “long Covid”.

Audiovisual director Maddie Beach, who fell ill at the start of the pandemic, tells us what has changed after infection.

“It felt weird, with symptoms I wasn’t aware of, a little phlegmatic, a little disoriented, and it took a long time to process things. I remember the first time I went to make food, I forgot. I didn’t remember. I had to stop thinking about the process of picking up an item.” food and put it in the pan because it turned white,” he says.

The researchers discovered that the virus penetrates the brain and mainly affects astrocytes, which are stellate cells that support nerve cells and are affected by the disease. They begin to produce substances that kill neurons and everything indicates that this can be one of the causes of depression, anxiety and memory difficulties.

In this work we show that the virus invades cells of the central nervous system in a different way than it invades cells in, for example, the lung. This may give us the basis for developing molecules that prevent it from entering cells of the central nervous system. Of course, it’s a long way to go, but just to give an example of how we can progress in understanding these biological mechanisms,” explains Tiago Matar-Cunha, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Ribeirao Preto.

This week, the state of São Paulo recorded more than 300 new admissions, on average, per day of suspected and confirmed cases of Covid. This is the first time since July 27 this year that admission has reached this level.

Credits: G1.