With Covid cases set to pass 300,000 a day once again, a new threat has been detected - and this is evident even after a patient has recovered from their infection.
The problem with Covid-19 is that many scientists are unsure about the long-term consequences the virus could have on a person’s body, even after recovery.
There is growing evidence that Covid can cause lasting cognitive and mental health problems and new research reveals more than 50 long-term effects of the disease.
Now, a new study warns that Covid has also been associated with a threefold increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and a doubling of Parkinson's disease risk.
A new Danish study has revealed that people who have had a Covid-19 infection also are at risk of later developing life-altering brain complications.
These conditions include Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and ischaemic stroke, which Covid patients are more likely to develop later in life.
Researchers in Denmark examined data from 919,731 people who took tests for the virus. The scientists found that the 43,375 positive patients in the study were 3.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s down the line.
They also discovered that the cohort was 4.8 times more likely to suffer a brain bleed, 2.7 times more likely to suffer an ischaemic stroke, and 2.6 times more likely to develop Parkinson’s.
The study analysed in- and outpatients in Denmark between February 2020 and November 2021, as well as influenza patients from the corresponding pre-pandemic period.
The increased risk of most neurological diseases was, however, no higher in Covid-positive patients than in people who had been diagnosed with flu or other respiratory illnesses.
Covid patients did have a 1.7 times increased risk of ischaemic stroke in comparison to flu and bacterial pneumonia inpatients over 80 years of age.
Dr Pardis Zarifkar, lead author from the Department of Neurology at Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark, said: “More than two years after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the precise nature and evolution of the effects of Covid-19 on neurological disorders remained uncharacterised.
“Previous studies have established an association with neurological syndromes, but until now it is unknown whether Covid-19 also influences the incidence of specific neurological diseases and whether it differs from other respiratory infections.
“We found support for an increased risk of being diagnosed with neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular disorders in Covid-19 positive compared to Covid-negative patients, which must be confirmed or refuted by large registry studies in the near future.
“Reassuringly, apart for ischemic stroke, most neurological disorders do not appear to be more frequent after Covid-19 than after influenza or community-acquired bacterial pneumonia.”
The findings will help to find out about the long-term effects of Covid-19 on the body and the role that infections play in neurodegenerative diseases and stroke.
