Schultz is hopeful that many people experiencing persistent cognitive issues from COVID-19 will eventually improve. Many stroke and traumatic brain injury patients experience spontaneous recovery, in which the brain heals itself within three to six months.
But others worry that cognitive issues caused by COVID-19 may lead to dementia. At the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in July, scientists presented research showing that hospitalized COVID-19 patients had similar blood biomarkers, neurodegeneration, and inflammation to those with Alzheimer’s disease. The research has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Heather Snyder, vice president of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer's Association, cautions that the findings don’t necessarily mean someone who gets COVID-19 is more likely to develop Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia. “We’re still trying to understand those associations,” she says.
For now, there are no specific treatments for COVID-related brain fog, memory loss, and other cognitive effects. Instead, doctors are using cognitive therapy, occupational therapy, or speech-language pathology to treat symptoms. Many studies, like the NIH one, are trying to understand the underlying mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction in long COVID patients in hopes of identifying potential treatments.
“We and others are collecting anecdotal data from patients on what has helped them, but we are far from definitive therapeutics,” Frontera says.
In the U.S. alone, millions of people have developed lasting cognitive and neurological problems long after an initial COVID-19 infection. Some of these patients may be permanently disabled and need long-term care. “My concern is that we're going to have huge numbers of the population who aren't able to function at their cognitive baseline. They can't go back to work, or at least not to what they did before,” Frontera says. “We haven’t even thought of the long-term implications. It could be an incredible blow to the economy.”
Davis says the scariest part about COVID-19’s cognitive effects is that people of all ages and health status are affected. “This is something everyone is at risk for, and it's completely debilitating.”
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to correct the number of patients in studies regarding COVID-19 and cognition.
The next health crisis
Schultz is hopeful that many people experiencing persistent cognitive issues from COVID-19 will eventually improve. Many stroke and traumatic brain injury patients experience spontaneous recovery, in which the brain heals itself within three to six months.
But others worry that cognitive issues caused by COVID-19 may lead to dementia. At the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in July, scientists presented research showing that hospitalized COVID-19 patients had similar blood biomarkers, neurodegeneration, and inflammation to those with Alzheimer’s disease. The research has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Heather Snyder, vice president of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer's Association, cautions that the findings don’t necessarily mean someone who gets COVID-19 is more likely to develop Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia. “We’re still trying to understand those associations,” she says.
For now, there are no specific treatments for COVID-related brain fog, memory loss, and other cognitive effects. Instead, doctors are using cognitive therapy, occupational therapy, or speech-language pathology to treat symptoms. Many studies, like the NIH one, are trying to understand the underlying mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction in long COVID patients in hopes of identifying potential treatments.
“We and others are collecting anecdotal data from patients on what has helped them, but we are far from definitive therapeutics,” Frontera says.
In the U.S. alone, millions of people have developed lasting cognitive and neurological problems long after an initial COVID-19 infection. Some of these patients may be permanently disabled and need long-term care. “My concern is that we're going to have huge numbers of the population who aren't able to function at their cognitive baseline. They can't go back to work, or at least not to what they did before,” Frontera says. “We haven’t even thought of the long-term implications. It could be an incredible blow to the economy.”
Davis says the scariest part about COVID-19’s cognitive effects is that people of all ages and health status are affected. “This is something everyone is at risk for, and it's completely debilitating.”
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to correct the number of patients in studies regarding COVID-19 and cognition.