Damage to the brainstem – the brain's 'control center' – is behind long-lasting physical and psychiatric effects of severe Covid-19 infection, a study suggests. Using ultra-high-resolution scanners that can see the living brain in fine detail, researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford were able to observe the damaging effects Covid-19 can have on the brain. The study team scanned the brains of 30 people who had been admitted to hospital with severe Covid-19 early in the pandemic, before vaccines were available.
The researchers found that Covid-19 infection damages the region of the brainstem associated with breathlessness, fatigue and anxiety. The powerful MRI scanners used for the study, known as 7-Tesla or 7T scanners, can measure inflammation in the brain. Their results, published in the journal Brain , will help scientists and clinicians understand the long-term effects of Covid-19 on the brain and the rest of the body.
Although the study was started before the long-term effects of Covid was recognized, it will help to better understand this condition. The brainstem, which connects the brain to the spinal cord, is the control center for many basic life functions and reflexes. Clusters of nerve cells in the brainstem, known as nuclei, are responsible for regulating and processing essential bodily functions such as breathing, heart rate, pain and blood pressure.
Things happening in and around the brainstem are vital for quality of life, but it had been i.
