Covid-19, increase the risk of brain degeneration as seen in Parkinson's disease. "Parkinson's is a rare disease that affects 2 per cent of the population above 55 years, so the increase in risk is not necessarily a cause for panic," said Richard Smeyne, Director from the Thomas Jefferson University, US. "But understanding how Coronavirus impacts the brain can help us prepare for the long-term consequences of this pandemic," he added.
The study was conducted on mice that were genetically engineered to express the human ACE-2 receptor. It was observed that coronavirus was making the brain more susceptible to a toxin that induces nerve-cell loss seen in Parkinson's.
The mice were infected with SARS-CoV-2 and allowed to recover. A month after the surviving animals recovered, one group was injected with a low dose of MPTP that would not normally cause any loss of neurons.
The control group was given saline. Two weeks later, the animal's brains were examined. The researchers found that Covid-19 infection alone had no effect on the dopaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia.