A study by researchers from the Institut Pasteur on hamsters shows that the COVVI-19 virus “infects the brain and persists up to 80 days” in a part of the brain, accompanied by signs of “depression, memory disorders and anxiety”.
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Research works are underway in the world to understand the causes of post-Cavid syndrome, also called the Long Covid, which affected 4 % of the French adult population at the end of 2022, according to Public Health France. This syndrome is manifested by deep fatigue, neurological disorders, breathing difficulties, headache …
The study of the Institut Pasteur, published in the journal Nature Communications on July 22, tends to show that the COVVI-19 virus “persists in the long term in the brainstem and distinguishes the activity of neurons”, summarizing the researchers in a statement released on Tuesday.
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 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” as Parkinson’s disease with “deregulation of the dopamine route”.
The virus thus 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 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 said.
Researchers have already found “signs of the persistence of COVVI-19 virus” in the body, “the 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.
