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March 9, 2022

Andrew Campbell 

According to a study published in the journal Nature on March 7 titled "SARS-CoV-2 is associated with changes in brain structure in UK Biobank," scientists discovered significant differences in brain regions in MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans before and after COVID infection. 

These are the stunning findings of a new study led by University of Oxford researchers, which are especially significant because it is the first investigation of the disease's possible impact on the brain based on brain scans obtained before and after patients were infected with the coronavirus in 785 UK Biobank participants (aged 51–81).

The paper's lead author, Associate Professor Gwenaelle Douaud of the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging at the University of Oxford, and colleagues discovered that infected participants' overall brain size shrank by 0.2 to 2%. There was a loss of grey matter in the olfactory and memory areas, which are associated with smell. It remains to be seen whether this negative impact can be partially reversed or whether the effects will last in the long run.