Infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 causes changes or cognitive changes in nearly a quarter of elderly patients after recovery, a study in Romania shows. According to the results of a study by News.ro, including people who had not previously been diagnosed with neurodegenerative pathology, they developed symptoms such as memory impairment and anxiety after the disease.

A medical study of 304 elderly patients shows that 24%, or 73 patients, experienced cognitive changes or changes after COVID, and of these, 11 experienced peripheral ischemic events regardless of the presence of cerebral, coronary, or peripheral atherosclerosis.

In addition, 18 patients, representing 6% of the total, were newly diagnosed with anxiety and depression, underscoring the complexity of the impact on mental health, according to a study conducted by Enayati Hospital, the results of which were released on Thursday.

“We should not leave the patient in the so-called brain fog syndrome for 6-12 months, he should contact and consult with geriatrics and gerontology as soon as possible. We have experience and can say that we are one of the promoters who have also studied the brain, not just the lungs, when discussing Sars-COV-2 infection. Everyone explored and looked for the lungs, everyone monitored, starting with imaging, the chest. We focused on the brain because it’s neuroinflammation, it’s a febrile syndrome in the context of SARS-Cov-2 infection, and any neuroinflammation carries with it this whole plume of neurodegenerative pathology,” he said. said study coordinator Ioana Ioancio, primary care physician of geriatrics-gerontology.

The study also included patients who had not previously been diagnosed with neurodegenerative disease, but who had symptoms such as memory disorders and anxiety.

The study was conducted on hospitalized or outpatient patients between June 2022 and March 2023, with or without diagnosed neurodegenerative pathology, infected with SARS-CoV-2. Patients were evaluated according to the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) standards for the detection of “long COVID” syndrome. The findings highlighted that many patients showed significant changes, including on brain imaging, three to six months after being infected with SARS-COV-2.

The medical team involved in its implementation emphasized the advantages of an integrated ecosystem that allows careful monitoring of patients at different stages of the disease. The research coordinator, in turn, drew attention to the importance of early diagnosis and a multidisciplinary approach.

“The findings of this study once again confirm the need for an individualized approach in the treatment of elderly patients with neurodegenerative pathology and SARS-COV-2 infection,” the authors of the study said in a press release published on Thursday.

According to them, the study, entitled “Onset of Neurodegenerative Pathology in Elderly Patients Infected with SARS-CoV-2” was presented at the 33rd European Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease “New Opportunities in Dementia Treatment, Policy and Research” held in Helsinki . , Finland, from October 16 to 18, 2023.

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