Newswise — Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine are conducting a longitudinal study to track neurological symptoms in COVID-19 “long-haulers.”
The first round of results, published June 15, 2022 in Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, revealed the prevalence of various short- and long-term symptoms and found that, while many patients showed improvement, the majority still had some neurological symptoms after six months. A subset of individuals also exhibited significant coordination and cognitive issues, which had not been previously described.
Following mild-to-moderate SARS-CoV-2 infections, 56 persons with neurological symptoms were recruited to the study between October 2020 and October 2021. They completed a neurological exam, cognitive assessment, self-reported questionnaires and an optional brain scan. Baseline measurements were taken a few months after their initial infection and repeated three and six months later.
At the time of their first visit, 89 percent of participants were experiencing fatigue and 80 percent reported headaches. Other common neurological symptoms included memory impairment, insomnia and decreased concentration. Eighty percent of participants said these symptoms impacted their quality of life.
