People with mild COVID-19 symptoms from the novel coronavirus can sometimes suffer long-term neurological damage, according to a recent study.
The news: A new study from Yale University researchers — which has not been peer-reviewed but can be read on bioRxiv — looked into how mice reacted to a COVID-19 infection and what happened to their brains.
- In mild infections, there was “some significant damage in the cells of the brain,” Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist with the Yale School of Medicine, told NBC Connecticut.
- “This means that even a mild respiratory infection could lead to neurological symptoms; that’s based on the damage that we see,” he said.
Why it matters: Iwasaki said the hope is for researchers to learn more about how long COVID-19 symptoms start and why people will suffer long-term brain damage from a mild infection.
The bigger picture: For years now, researchers have been analyzing the link between COVID-19 and the disease’s effects on the brain.