Spike mutations allow SARS-CoV-2 to enter the brain

Scientists have found that a mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 virus helps it infect the brain, which could explain neurological issues like ‘long COVID,’ ‘brain fog,’ and loss of taste and smell. Viruses with a spike protein deletion are more effective at invading the brain in mice. This discovery might lead to better treatments for clearing the virus from the brain and understanding its neurological effects.

A study by Northwestern University and the University of Illinois-Chicago found mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that make the virus more effective at infecting mice’s brains. Judd Hultquist, a co-author, noted that viruses with a specific spike deletion were much more effective at brain infection than those found in the lungs, which was an unexpected but exciting discovery. The study concludes that mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein enhance the virus’s ability to infect the brain, which could explain some of the neurological symptoms associated with COVID-19 .

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