A unique collaboration among experts from several areas within MSK leads to findings about how inflammation appears to be driving the neurologic effects seen in some COVID-19 patients.
One of the dozens of unusual symptoms that have emerged in COVID-19 patients is a condition that’s informally called “COVID brain” or “brain fog.” It’s characterized by confusion, headaches, and loss of short-term memory. In severe cases, it can lead to psychosis and even seizures. It usually emerges weeks after someone first becomes sick with COVID-19.
In the February 8, 2021, issue of the journal Cancer Cell, a multidisciplinary team from Memorial Sloan Kettering reports an underlying cause of COVID brain: the presence of inflammatory molecules in the liquid surrounding the brain and spinal cord (called the cerebrospinal fluid). The findings suggest that anti-inflammatory drugs, such as steroids, may be useful for treating the condition, but more research is needed.
“We were initially approached by our colleagues in critical care medicine who had observed severe delirium in many patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19,” says Jessica Wilcox, the Chief Fellow in neuro-oncology at MSK and one of the first authors of the new study. “That meeting turned into a tremendous collaboration between neurology, critical care, microbiology, and neuroradiology to learn what was going on and to see how we could better help our patients.”
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Cancer Cell. Research Paper:
