Long COVID neurological symptoms
Long COVID describes long-term symptoms that persist after the initial coronavirus infection. The cause of these symptoms does not seem to be linked to the severity of the initial infection.
A new study, published in Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, looked at the short and long-term symptoms of a COVID infection and identified persisting long COVID neurological symptoms. The study confirms that while many people experience improvement in their symptoms, the majority can still suffer from neurological problems even after a period of six months from the initial infection.
About the study
The research team looked at 56 people and conducted different tests and assessments looking at their cognitive and neurological abilities. The first set of measurements was taken a few months after the initial COVID infection and was repeated three and six months later.
During the first visit, 89 percent of participants reported that they were struggling with fatigue and 80 percent of them experienced headaches. Apart from these, other common neurological symptoms included memory impairment, insomnia and decreased concentration. The majority of subjects of the study shared that these persistent signs have impacted their quality of life.
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What the findings suggest
After the six-month follow-up, two-thirds of the study subjects were still struggling with persistent neurological symptoms. The other third subjects of the study were able to experience a complete resolution of their symptoms.
The researchers noted that the most prevalent symptoms at six months were memory impairment and decreased concentration. They added that none of the individuals with these persistent symptoms had any history of pre-existing neurological conditions. Some of these participants are high-level professionals but even months after having COVID-19 they were scoring abnormally on cognitive assessments.
What’s more, apart from the traditional long COVID signs, the research team was surprised to find symptoms such as tremor and difficulty balancing – leading to an incoordination of their body and possible incoordination of their thoughts. They identified a novel phenotype which they dubbed Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 infection with Tremor, Ataxia and Cognitive deficit (PASC-TAC). The team is now planning to monitor the patients’ symptoms annually for up to 10 years.
Other signs of long COVID
People who experience post-COVID conditions most commonly report general symptoms like tiredness or fatigue that interferes with daily life, fever and post-exertional malaise in which symptoms get worse after physical or mental effort. Respiratory and heart symptoms include shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, cough, chest pain and heart palpitations. Digestive symptoms associated with long COVID include diarrhea and stomach pain. Other symptoms include joint or muscle pain, rashes and changes in menstrual cycles.
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