Large-Scale Global Study to Investigate Links Between COVID-19 and Cognitive Decline

A paper announcing a study in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association says the effort will probe whether COVID-19 elevates a person's risk for Alzheimer's disease and other brain disorders, reports the Washington Post . The investigation will track COVID-19 survivors over 50 or 60 years old, with initial funding from the Alzheimer's Association and technical guidance from the World Health Organization. Researchers from nearly 40 countries have enrolled, and scientists hope to recruit about 40,000 participants. "Abnormal brain imaging has emerged as a major feature of COVID-19 from all parts of the world," the paper said, adding that abnormalities have been identified even in a person whose only symptom was loss of smell. "The trail of the virus, when it invades the brain, leads almost straight to the hippocampus," said Gabriel A. de Erausquin at University of Texas Health San Antonio. "That is believed to be one of the sources of the cognitive impairment observed in COVID-19 patients. We suspect it may also be part of the reason why there will be an accelerated cognitive decline over time in susceptible individuals." Researchers aim to secure funding to follow study participants for five years or longer.