We couldn't even normalize mask usage or staying home and resting while sick.

Research shows that even mild COVID-19 can lead to the equivalent of seven years of brain aging

Highlights:

Large epidemiological analyses showed that people who had COVID-19 were at an increased risk of cognitive deficits, such as memory problems.

Imaging studies done in people before and after their COVID-19 infections show shrinkage of brain volume and altered brain structure after infection.

A study of people with mild to moderate COVID-19 showed significant prolonged inflammation of the brain and changes that are commensurate with seven years of brain aging.

Severe COVID-19 that requires hospitalization or intensive care may result in cognitive deficits and other brain damage that are equivalent to 20 years of aging.

Laboratory experiments in human and mouse brain organoids designed to emulate changes in the human brain showed that SARS-CoV-2 infection triggers the fusion of brain cells. This effectively short-circuits brain electrical activity and compromises function.

Autopsy studies of people who had severe COVID-19 but died months later from other causes showed that the virus was still present in brain tissue. This provides evidence that contrary to its name, SARS-CoV-2 is not only a respiratory virus, but it can also enter the brain in some individuals. But whether the persistence of the virus in brain tissue is driving some of the brain problems seen in people who have had COVID-19 is not yet clear.

Studies show that even when the virus is mild and exclusively confined to the lungs, it can still provoke inflammation in the brain and impair brain cells’ ability to regenerate.

COVID-19 can also disrupt the blood brain barrier, the shield that protects the nervous system – which is the control and command center of our bodies – making it “leaky.” Studies using imaging to assess the brains of people hospitalized with COVID-19 showed disrupted or leaky blood brain barriers in those who experienced brain fog.

A large preliminary analysis pooling together data from 11 studies encompassing almost one million people with COVID-19 and more than 6 million uninfected individuals showed that COVID-19 increased the risk of development of new-onset dementia in people older than 60 years of age.

And to all the people claiming the virus changed and it's mild now, bro:

Most recently, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine assessed cognitive abilities such as memory, planning and spatial reasoning in nearly 113,000 people who had previously had COVID-19. The researchers found that those who had been infected had significant deficits in memory and executive task performance.

This decline was evident among those infected in the early phase of the pandemic and those infected when the delta and omicron variants were dominant. These findings show that the risk of cognitive decline did not abate as the pandemic virus evolved from the ancestral strain to omicron.

  • VILenin [he/him]
    ·
    4 months ago

    Isn’t it weird how the virus, suddenly and for no reason at all, became just a cold at the exact moment capitalists decided the pandemic should be over?

  • SpiderFarmer [he/him]
    ·
    4 months ago

    I really wish the communist govt that chuds imagine would kick down my door and give me my shots.

  • GinAndJuche
    ·
    edit-2
    4 months ago

    Anecdotally my ability to focus has gone to shit. Important to note I have other factors that could be behind this. For the first time in my life though, I have felt dumb. Those couple days hacking and gasping in my bed really do feel like the birth of an undone version of myself.

  • Goadstool [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    4 months ago

    So what am I supposed to do with this information, panic that I'm going to develop early-onset dementia because I got COVID once?

    • dat_math [they/them]
      ·
      4 months ago

      cite it when people incorrectly assert that omicron or more recent variants are less dangerous

    • Maoo [none/use name]
      ·
      4 months ago

      Getting COVID over and over again seems to increase the likelihood of bad outcomes.

      In lieu of a public health system that can actually address the pandemic, the most you can do as an indivisible is stay vigilant with PPE, get vaxxed, etc.

      • sovietknuckles [they/them]
        ·
        edit-2
        4 months ago

        get vaxxed,

        every 4 months, since that's how long the protection that mRNA vaccines offer will last (though protection peaks after just 1 month)

        • Maoo [none/use name]
          ·
          4 months ago

          Yeah it's really annoying. Also they often won't even let you get newer boosters on even a 6 month schedule. The fucks.

          • Philosoraptor [he/him, comrade/them]
            ·
            4 months ago

            Last time I went in to get one, they didn't even ask for proof of when my last shot was--they just took my word for it. If they're not letting you schedule and you want another one, just pick a new place and lie.

    • TheModerateTankie [any]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 months ago

      If you were up to date on the vaccines, your odds of the worst outcomes go down significantly. It's still a good idea to avoid it as much as possible until better vaccines are developed.

      • Goadstool [he/him, comrade/them]
        ·
        4 months ago

        I was definitely not up to date... these kinds of stories just exacerbate my existing paranoia. I guess all I can do is keep my vaccinations up to date from here on, and hope that I'm not too inhibited by getting the virus like a year ago.

    • glingorfel [he/him]
      ·
      4 months ago

      all we can do at this point is try to not get it any more times. high quality masks, nasal sprays, cpc mouthwash, etc when sharing air

  • rootsbreadandmakka [he/him]
    ·
    4 months ago

    ugh stop, I couldn't remember the name of the Suez Canal today, I kept calling it the Sinai Canal until I was like "wait that doesn't sound right."

    I did eventually remember the name of the Bab al-Mandab Strait after some thinking which is one I usually forget so hopefully that was just tiredness and life being chaotic atm.

  • arabiclearner
    ·
    4 months ago

    So are we like... legitimizing IQ bullshit just to own the CHUDs? WTF