Mitigating Long-Term COVID-19 Consequences on Brain Health

Ryan C N D'Arcy; Jagdeep K Sandhu; Shawn Marshall; Markus Besemann

doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.630986

Mitigating Long-Term COVID-19 Consequences on Brain Health

Front Neurol. 2021 Sep 27:12:630986. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.630986. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Ryan C N D'Arcy^{1

2

3}, Jagdeep K Sandhu^{4

5}, Shawn Marshall⁶, Markus Besemann^{6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Neurology Studies, HealthTech Connex, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
² Faculty of Applied Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
³ DM Centre for Brain Health (Radiology), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
⁴ Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁵ Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁶ Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁷ Rehabilitation Medicine, Canadian Forces Health Services, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Abstract

COVID-19 is increasingly being linked to brain health impacts. The emerging situation is consistent with evidence of immunological injury to the brain, which has been described as a resulting "brain fog." The situation need not be medicalized but rather clinically managed in terms of improving resilience for an over-stressed nervous system. Pre-existing comparisons include managing post-concussion syndromes and/or brain fog. The objective evaluation of changes in cognitive functioning will be an important clinical starting point, which is being accelerated through pandemic digital health innovations. Pre-morbid brain health can significantly optimize risk factors and existing clinical frameworks provide useful guidance in managing over-stressed COVID-19 nervous systems.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; brain inflammation; cognition; coronavirus; mental health; moral injury; neuromodulation; neuroplasticity.