People struck by debilitating long Covid have unique changes to their brains which makes it harder to think and speak.
A new study found they have fewer protective proteins in their brains and higher levels of inflammation, both of which are linked to dementia.
Long Covid patients also perform worse in language tests, such as finding the right word or understanding what certain words mean, which can be signs of brain fog.
The study suggests, for the first time, that damage to the brain, rather than a ramped up immune system, causes the symptoms of long Covid.
Though the study included just 17 people, the researchers plan to use the findings to launch larger-scale studies to find the causes of Long Covid.
Dr Michael Lawrence, lead study author and neuropsychologist at Corewell Health in Michigan, said: ‘To our knowledge, this is the first controlled study that shows specific self-reported neurocognitive and central nervous systems changes in long COVID patients which validates the symptoms they’ve been experiencing.’
Long Covid is an amorphous condition made up of a constellation of symptoms from brain fog and fatigue to heart inflammation and joint pain.
An estimated 17 million Americans have it.