Posted 3 hours ago,
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in collaboration with
Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
According to a British study, the cognitive decline of patients admitted to intensive care because of Covid-19 would be comparable to 20 years of aging. The effect would be equivalent to a 10 point drop in IQ.
Scientists know it: the coronavirus leaves traces on our body in the more or less long term. But the exact impact of the infection on our brain was previously unknown. According to a new study by researchers at the University of Cambridge, six months after contracting the disease – cognitive decline is similar to 20 years of aging.
A drop of 10 IQ points
In this study, researchers tried to understand the effects of Covid-19 on the brain. To do this, they tested the cognitive abilities of 46 patients, hospitalized in 2020 and aged 51 on average. A third of the patients had been put on an artificial respirator (the machine takes over from the patient’s lungs when the patient can no longer breathe on their own).
The patients then underwent a series of memory, attention and reasoning tests six months after illness. The researchers compared their results to those of 66,008 healthy people.
Less accurate and slower
The results showed that coronavirus survivors “were on average less accurate than other subjects without and had longer response times”.
The survivors obtained “poor” results following psychotechnical tests called “verbal analogies”. A recurring problem according to the authors, in those who suffered from “brain fog”.
Patients who used the ventilator had the worst test scores, indicating that the severity of the disease is a determining factor in cognitive decline.
Despite a “progressive” cognitive improvement observed several months after the disease, “csome may never fully regain their previous intelligence”the authors said.
Echoing old studies, the scientists said that “This premature aging could be due to the virus, which reduces oxygen to the brain, or to inflammation of brain tissue that occurs as the body tries to fight infection.”.
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“Premature aging is not irreversible”
For Doctor Kierzek, medical director of Doctissimo, the results of this study should be considered with caution. Their interpretation must take into account many elements: the patient’s medical history (past hospitalizations, etc.) and their risk factors for Covid-19 (obesity, heart disease, etc.).
“If a person enters intensive care, it is because he already has a risk area. However, once on oxygen – and whatever the reason for this resuscitation – sequelae can occur. However, these are not irreversible.notes the emergency doctor
Post-traumatic stress, Guillain-Barré syndrome (limb paralysis), respiratory and pulmonary distress, brain fog (slower thoughts, confusion, difficulty remembering, concentrating) can be treated in particular.