These studied the effects of COVVI-19 infection “in the central nervous system” of hamsters, “up to 80 days after the acute phase of infection”.
They observed that “genes linked to the metabolism and the activity of neurons are deregulated in the brain of these animals, in a similar way to what is happening in neurodegenerative diseases” like Parkinson’s disease with “deregulation of the dopamine route”.
The virus seems to “have an impact on the production of dopamine”, involved in “the regulation of emotions and memory”, explains one of the researchers, Anthony Coleon, in the press release.
Analyzes have shown that despite a low viral load, the virus could continue to infect new cells, seeming to indicate that it could persist “at low noise” in the brainstem.
According to Guilherme Dias of Melo Mélo Author of the study, it “highlights for the first time, in the animal model, the long-term biological consequences” of the COVVI-19.
After having identified “a list of long-term deregulated genes” by the virus, the researchers will continue their work “in order to understand how the infection induces the loss of function of dopamine neurons”, he indicates.
Researchers have already found “signs of the persistence of the virus” of the COVID-19 in the body, “alteration of the immune response and an autoimmune response”, recalls the World Health Organization (WHO), according to which the pandemic killed 20 million people around the world.
