Cognitive impairment identified in cohort of older Amerindians and in 32 patients after mild-to-moderate COVID-19<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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THURSDAY, July 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Cognitive impairment has been reported following recovery from COVID-19, according to two studies presented at the annual Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, held from July 26 to 30 in Denver.<\/p>\n
Gabriel de Erausquin, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Long School of Medicine, and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study involving older Amerindians from Argentina to examine chronic neuropsychiatric sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Data were included for 233 SARS-CoV-2-infected participants and 64 controls. The researchers categorized the sample into three groups: normal cognition, memory-only impairment, and multiple-domain impairment (44.6, 21.0, and 34.4 percent, respectively). There was a correlation observed for severity of cognitive impairment with severity of olfactory dysfunction, but no correlation with severity of acute COVID-19.<\/p>\n
George Vavougios, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Thessaly in Volos, Greece, and colleagues examined the prevalence and associations of cognitive impairment in 32 patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 followed for two months after hospital discharge. The researchers found that 56.2 percent of the patients presented with cognitive decline, with a Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score <24. The predominant patterns of cognitive impairment were short-term memory impairments and multidomain impairment without short-term memory deficits. There was an association observed for MoCA score with age, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and pulse oximetry oxygen saturation during the six-minute walk test.<\/p>\n
“A brain deprived of oxygen is not healthy, and persistent deprivation may very well contribute to cognitive difficulties,” Vavougios said in a statement. “These data suggest some common biological mechanisms between COVID-19’s dyscognitive spectrum and post-COVID-19 fatigue that have been anecdotally reported over the last several months.”<\/p>\n
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