As we continue to face the challenges of the 19009 pandemic, a crucial question arises: How does the virus affect health after its first infection? Interestingly, many people have experienced ongoing cognitive difficulties that have been experienced by Covid-19, which forms part of the “long-term rotation.” This condition is reminiscent of the cognitive decline seen in a condition like dementia, which affects millions of people around the world. Interestingly, this condition can also affect reproductive hormones. A new, insightful study investigates the potential link between the Covid-19 virus and changes in important hormonal pathways in the brain, including pathways involved in cognition. This study is not just about understanding the effects of Covid-19. It also explores how viral infections broadly affect brain health and hormonal balance, raising key questions about neurodegenerative diseases.
In a groundbreaking study by Lille Neuroscience and Cognitive INSERM Research Center, led by Dr. Vincent Prevot and Dr. Sowmyalakshmi Rasika, the team delved into how Covid-19 affects patients’ hormones. To avoid variability due to women’s menstrual cycles, they published in the journal where they examined hormone levels in blood samples from male patients with COVID-19. They also studied brain tissue in patients who died of 199, focusing on areas such as the hypothalamus, which are key to hormone control and communication between the brain and other organs. In addition, they studied tissue samples that develop human brains to understand how viruses affect brain development.
Dr. Prevot explained: “We found that persistent low testosterone levels in some men may actually originate from the brain, leading to persistent cognitive or neurological symptoms after covid, and that these hormone levels are closely related to changes in body weight over time. “Their research shows that men and presumably women have lasting cognitive problems with reproductive hormones and may be due to damage to specific brain cells that regulate reproduction and cognition.
To gain more insights, the researchers also conducted experiments on human brain cell culture. These experiments allow them to witness the effects of viruses on cells first-hand. They used special marker techniques to observe the presence and role of the virus in brain tissue and used advanced cell analysis methods to study infected cells in more detail.
The team identified two main ways that viruses could enter the brain—by scent sensing neurons and special cells in the brain called tanycytes. “We found evidence of a virus that infects odor neurons and tanycytes, which suggests that the virus has at least two possible ways to invade the brain,” Dr. Prevot noted. “Shockingly, they found that brain cells that produce key reproductive hormones are in All the patients they studied died in the brain, which greatly reduced hormone production.
Furthermore, they found that during development, the origin of these brain cells is closely related to the part that causes the odor and is also susceptible to infection, suggesting that the fetus or infants may be particularly vulnerable. This finding raises concerns about how the COVID-19 virus may affect brain development in children and brain aging, which can lead to severe reproductive, metabolic and mental health problems in long-term breeding patients.
In summary, this important study establishes an important link between lingering COVID-19 symptoms and neuroendocrine dysfunction in men as an example. It highlights the need for more research in this area to fully understand the impact of Covid-19 on psychological functioning, cognitive health and reproductive health. As we continue to face the pandemic, these findings may lead to new treatments to help those experiencing long-term impacts to the virus.
number. painting. SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can enter the hypothalamus through blood or olfactory pathways. Fluorescence microscope image. Neurons that produce gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GNRH) can control the reproductive neurohormones (through which express GNRH, red, red, red, red, red, red) in the brains of patients who die after infection. Neurons express the virus using the molecule ACE2 (white) into most target cells. The presence of a peak viral protein (green) that the protein attached to the target cell surface of the virus indicates that it has infected and produces more viruses. In the blue, it’s nucleus and surrounding brain cells.
Journal Reference
Sauve F, Nampoothiri S, Clarke SA, Fernandois D, Ferreira Coêlho CF, Dewisme J, Mills EG, EG, Ternier G, Cotellessa L, Iglesias-Garcia C, Mueller-Fielitz Sharif A, Ereño-Orbea J, Mercado-Gómez M, Palazon A, Mattot V, Pasquier F, Catteau-Jonard S, Martinez-Chantar M, Hrabovszky E, Jourdain M, Deplanque D, Morelli A, Guarnieri G, Storme L, Robil C, Trottein F, Nogueiras R, Schwaninger M, Pigny P , Poissy J, Chachlaki K, Maurage CA, Giacobini P, Dhillo W, Dhillo W, Rasika S, Prevot V. Long-term stable cognitive elicitation and male reproductive hormone deficiency may lead to death of GNRH neurons. ebiomedicine. October 2023; 96:104784. doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104784.
