Lead author Professor Jennifer Frontera said: “Our findings suggest that patients hospitalized for COVID-19, and especially in those experiencing neurological symptoms during their acute infection, may have levels of brain injury markers that are as high as, or higher than, those seen in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.”
Some of these proteins have been linked to the death or damage of neurons in the brain, such as tau.
Others, such as amyloid beta, have been known to accumulate in Alzheimer’s patients but haven’t been directly connected to cognitive decline.