“Sars-CoV-2 infection should be considered a risk factor for Alzheimer’s, although the distinction between causality and acceleration of the disease is unclear“. It still needs to be understood, in other words, whether Covid can cause dementia or speed up its onset and evolution. This is the conclusion reached by the authors of an in-depth study on the ‘Sars-CoV-2 virus as a cause of neurodegeneration ‘, published in ‘The Lancet Neurology’.
Scientists start from the assumption that “infectious diseases are a” possible “cause of neurodegeneration” already “established, “although the neurological danger linked to viral infections is difficult to quantify”. In general, the experts underline, “so far the cumulative risk estimated dementia due to hospitalization for any viral infection over a lifetime is 1.48 (95% confidence interval 1.15-1.91)”. Regarding Covid, “a longitudinal study on the consequences of the infection from Sars-CoV-2 in the following decades “is obviously not available”, considering that the disease was ‘born’ as far as we know in 2019. However, the researchers cite studies whose results indicate that “Covid-19 can cause a higher risk of dementia than influenza” and that, “in the short term, the risk of serious neurological damage as a sequela of Sars-CoV-2 is significant, driven by vascular mechanisms and probably other complex processes” that may involve the amyloid protein. The one that accumulates in the cerebral plaques characteristic of Alzheimer’s patients.
“A direct correlation between previous Sars-CoV-2 infection and increased Alzheimer’s risk has been reported” and appears “robust”, continue the authors, however “it remains difficult – they point out – to distinguish between cases of dementia hypothetically triggered or merely accelerated” by Covid. Some key points of the analysis are highlighted via social media by the American scientist Eric Topol, vice president executive Scripps Research, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, who publishes the plain text, highlighting in particular the conclusion: “The antiviral therapy – believe the signatories of the article – it should also be considered for moderate Sars-CoV-2 infectionsto reduce the severity of symptoms and limit the likelihood of sequelae.”
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