Mild COVID-19 patients may lose brain tissue: study
Pre-print paper says scans show 'significant' loss of grey matter in smell and taste regions in those with mild symptoms
Even mild cases of COVID-19 may lead to loss of brain tissue, according to findings from a long-term study involving 782 volunteers.
As part of the ongoing UK Biobank study, more than 40,000 participants were scanned before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, making it possible to invite back in 2021 hundreds of previously-imaged participants for a second imaging visit.
For a before-and-after comparison, researchers invited 394 COVID-19 survivors to come back for follow-up scans as well as 388 healthy volunteers.
Most of the COVID-19 patients had had only mild-to-moderate symptoms, or no symptoms at all; only 15 had been hospitalised.
