Covid virus cells may infiltrate a person’s brain through their nos. This could lead to cognitive symptoms known as ‘long Covid.
Researchers from the Rotman Research Institute – Baycrest in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the California National Primate Research Center in Davis, California, presented findings pointing to such at the Society for Neuroscience on Wednesday, according to NBC News.
Both researchers believe that the virus could directly affect the brain and cause a variety cognitive issues, such as brain fog and memory recall problems.
These findings give experts more insight on ‘long Covid,’ a mysterious condition which has appeared in thousands after they have cleared the infection.

Researchers believe that Covid could infect the neurons of a person by entering through the nose. This bypasses the brain’s protection mechanisms.

Covid cells attach to neurons and can travel freely throughout the body, as the immune system is unlikely not to attack them. This could be why some Covid survivors experience cognitive problems after infection.
The brain of a person has a natural blood shield that protects it against viruses and other foreign objects.
According to NBC News on Wednesday, the studies revealed that Covid may be able bypass that barrier by entering through its nose.
Researchers from Davis discovered in their study, that Covid-infected monkeys had brain evidence that the virus was present in their brains.
Brain neuron infections were more common in monkeys that are older or diabetic, both risk factors for Covid complications.
The immune system is hesitant about attacking neurons because they are considered the most important cells of the body. Infected neurons can travel throughout the body without much resistance.
This could be the reason for cognitive problems related to long Covid. The virus is still present in the nervous system.
Researchers from Toronto discovered that Covid patients had different brain waves up until seven months after infection.
Their brains performed less efficiently than those who didn’t have Covid, on average.
Baycrest Vice President of Research and Dr Allison Sekuler, the lead researcher, stated that the findings clearly demonstrate that Covid is affecting certain brain functions in some way. However, further research is necessary to determine how.
Dr Greg Vanichkachorn is a doctor who treats Covid patients at Rochester’s Mayo Clinic. He said that Covid is more than a respiratory disease.
Vanichkachorn stated to NBC News that he has always felt that this condition is more than a respiratory condition since the beginning of his career.
“I am not shocked by these findings.”
This inefficient brain activity could explain why people experience brain fog, a condition that causes difficulty remembering and recalling things after suffering from Covid.
DailyMail.com was told last month by Dr Sam Pleasure at the University of California San Francisco. Pleasure said that inflammation could also occur in the brain as part of an immune response.


He has seen cases in which patients who had recovered from Covid experienced severe psychiatric problems for months.
This type of inflammation can also occur after SARS, a virus very similar in appearance to Covid, which was erupted in Asia in 2000.
He stated, “As neurologists, it is common to think about these things as occurring post infectious phenomena.”
“We know from the literature that SARS caused a reasonable amount incidence.”
This type of inflammation can also cause anosmia (the sudden loss of taste or smell) and other conditions.
Long Covid has demonstrated the ability to affect cognitive function in a variety ways. This includes memory problems, decreased attention span, and loss of executive functions.
People who are hospitalized with the virus are more likely be to have cognitive issues. However, experts have found cases of long Covid in people who have only minor cases.
