Scientists discover that even mild COVID-19 can alter brain proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease, potentially increasing dementia risk—raising urgent public health concerns.

[u/Wagamaga]

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/260553/covid-19-linked-increase-biomarkers-abnormal-brain/

[u/honoria_glossop → u/[deleted]]

Same, and IDK if it's just paranoia but I'm *sure* I've lost cognitive capacity since the first and worst time I had it. I can't explain it (and so can't get a doctor to take it seriously) but I just don't feel "all there" any more.

[u/Ok_Frosting3500 → u/honoria_glossop]

You know what also impairs cognitive function? Stress, depression, and isolation. Which isn't to deny covid brain fog being a thing, but it is worth noting that when we came out of the COVID woods, we emerged into a colder, crueler, emptier world. In some ways, life feels like a shadow because it is the fun house version of our 2014 society. We've lost a lot of our grounding mechanisms and social spheres that made things feel "real".

(which again, isn't to deny the brain fog- it's certainly a real thing. But it's important to be forgiving with yourself and account for psychosomatic factors, to give yourself the best prognosis)

[u/Forsaken_Bison_8623 → u/honoria_glossop]

Unfortunately every single covid infection causes cognitive damage.

COVID-19 Leaves Its Mark on the Brain. Significant Drops in IQ Scores Are Noted https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-19-leaves-its-mark-on-the-brain-significant-drops-in-iq-scores-are/

Study shows even mild SARS-CoV-2 infections cause changes in EEG signatures that indicate cognitive decline, also in children and adolescents. https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-024-03481-1

February 2024 study in the New England Journal of Medicine that shows that every infection impacts the brain - Very large study that followed 800,000 people over three years. Link to study: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2311330

Most people don't even realize they are impacted. A recent study showed that all participants had cognitive differences after infection, but none of them realized or recognized it. Scary to think of that at the population level

34 healthy, young volunteers were inoculated and monitored for cognitive changes. They showed lower cognitive scores, w/ significant differences in memory and executive function task for at least a year (when the study ended). None of them reported any difference in cognition or cognitive symptoms. They were all impacted but none of them had any idea. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(24)00421-8/fulltext