COVID-19 virus enters the brain, here's what happens next

Even extremely mild cases have been shown to negatively affect brain function.

Yes, you really should social distance and wear a mask, because new research indicates that the COVID-19 virus swiftly crosses the blood-brain barrier, and wreaks havoc on our brains for often long periods of time in even the most mild cases. In fact, more and more evidence is coming out that people with COVID-19 are suffering from cognitive effects, such as brain fog and fatigue -- and there's no real rhyme or reason for the duration of the aftermath.

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In a study published December16 in Nature Neuroscience, researchers found that the spike protein, often depicted as the red arms of the virus, can cross the blood-brain barrier in mice, and this strongly suggests that SARS-CoV-2, the originator or COVID-19, can enter the brain in mammals including humans. This isn't terribly surprising, because many other viruses, particularly in the coronavirus family, have already been well-documented as crossing the blood-brain barrier.

Alice Gray, UW.edu

Here's how it enters your brain

The spike protein, which is typically referred to as the S1 protein, is responsible for telling the virus which cells to enter. Most often the virus follows the bath of its binding proteins, according to research author William A. Banks, a professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and a Puget Sound Veterans Affairs Healthcare System researcher. Those spike proteins themselves often cause damage just in the process, causing inflammation.

He explains that, "The S1 protein likely causes the brain to release cytokines and inflammatory products," continuing to shed light on the intense inflammation COVID-19 causes, which is now known as a cytokine storm.

Here's what happens next

The human immune system then overreacts in its attempt to kill the virus after detecting the virus and its proteins, and the infected subject is left with brain fog, fatigue, forgetfulness, and other cognitive issues. In fact, early research shows that 20 percent of all known COVID-19 infections go on to suffer from prolonged depression, anxiety, and dementia.

According to this report published in The Lancet on November 9, nearly one in five COVID-19 patients developed a mental health issue — like depression, anxiety, or dementia — within three months of diagnosis. Their risk was doubled compared to people who didn’t have COVID-19, and even higher when you add in other disorders like insomnia and PTSD. This information wasn't at all surprising to Banks and his research team, though, who saw this reaction once before with the HIV virus.

Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash

Another report shows that COVID-19 enters the brain, causes tissues to suffer from inflammation, and essentially sets the host human up for a parade of problems.

"The list now includes stroke, brain haemorrhage and memory loss. It is not unheard of for serious diseases to cause such effects, but the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic means that thousands or even tens of thousands of people could already have these symptoms, and some might be facing lifelong problems as a result."

The worst, and perhaps least expected part, is that serious illness isn't the only pre-cursor to brain-related issues from the virus. Less common complications have included peripheral nerve damage, typical of Guillain–Barré syndrome, and unique mixtures of other issues like such as anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. Similar symptoms have been seen in severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), which are both forms of coronaviruses.

The connection between HIV and COVID-19

The S1 proteins in SARS-CoV2 and the gp 120 protein in HIV-1 function similarly, according to Banks. Both are glycoproteins, a type of protein recognized for a signature trait of being covered in sugars. These proteins function as the arms and hands for their viruses by reaching out and grabbing onto other receptors, crossing the blood-brain barrier, and offering a variety of potentially toxic reactions when reaching brain tissue.

"It was like déjà vu," said Banks, who has done extensive work on HIV-1, gp 120, and the blood-brain barrier.

Banks, who is reknowned for his research work on the blood-brain barrier relation with Alzheimer's, obesity, diabetes, and HIV, collaborated with Jacob Raber, a professor in the departments of Behavioral Neuroscience, Neurology, and Radiation Medicine, and his teams at Oregon Health & Science University to study the way SARS-CoV2 behaves.

So what now?

This study is early reassurance of what many physicians already suspected -- the complications of a COVID-19 infection are far-reaching and troublesome beyond just cough, fever, and exhaustion.

"We know that when you have the COVID infection you have trouble breathing, and that's because there's infection in your lung, but an additional explanation is that the virus enters the respiratory centers of the brain and causes problems there as well," shared Banks.

Banks also has a clear message for those assuming a mild case will lead them to easy antibodies, permanent protection, or a casual attitude towards this pandemic. "You do not want to mess with this virus," he said. "Many of the effects that the COVID virus has could be accentuated or perpetuated or even caused by virus getting in the brain and those effects could last for a very long time."

That means wearing a face mask, a proven method of reducing transmission, is something we should all be taking seriously, as well as often-prescribed social distancing.

With notable neurological symptoms of affecting the central nervous system occurring in at least 0.04% of people with SARS, and in 0.2% of those with MERS, experts within the medical community are expecting an onslaught of millions reporting brain-related issues from COVID-19 infections by the time this pandemic draws to a close, if at all. Unfortunately, the science community's jury seems hung over whether or not this pandemic will ever truly end or just be less dramatic as time marches on, especially as potentially more contagious strains take footholds in populous nations like the United Kingdom and South Africa, and experts remaining unsure whether or not existing vaccine formulas will be effective in reducing the spread and severity of previously unstudied mutations.