People aged 65 and over had a importantly higher hazard of develop dementedness and Alzheimer ’s disease within a class of contractingCOVID-19 , according to a vast raw work of 6 million people . When compared to the ascendency grouping , there was a 50 - 80 percent increased risk of developing the neurologic disease in multitude infect with COVID-19 , highlighting the current and potential future implications the virus may have on the previous populations .
Previous research had implicated COVID-19 in the development of neurologic disease . It had been report that it was rubor that was induce damage to the brains of infected patients , but autopsystudieshighlighted SARS - CoV-2 corpuscle within brain neurons , suggesting the computer virus invades cell directly .
“ The broker that play into the developing of Alzheimer ’s disease have been poorly understood , but two pieces regard important are anterior infections , especially viral contagion , and inflammation , " say Pamela Davis , Distinguished University Professor and the study ’s coauthor , in astatement .
" Since contagion with SARS - CoV-2 has been associated with cardinal nervous organisation abnormalities including kindling , we want to essay whether , even in the inadequate full term , COVID could lead to increase diagnoses . ”
COVID-19 and Alzheimer’s disease
In this retrospective study , researchers from the US contract a large sample distribution of over 6 million patients with no history of Alzheimer ’s disease . They divided them into a control group that did n’t contract bridge COVID-19 , and an experimental chemical group that did . The chemical group follow from diverse racial and socio - economic background , attempting to limit confounding variable .
The researcher discovered that in the COVID-19 group , the cohort saw a nearly replicate endangerment of develop Alzheimer ’s disease within one year , with the most dramatic increment in woman of age 85 and over .
While the upshot are damn , the researchers stress they do not yet know how COVID-19 could be involve in the onslaught of Alzheimer ’s – however , the finding do paint a possibly dispirited future for Alzheimer ’s diagnosis .
" If this increase in new diagnoses of Alzheimer ’s disease is sustained , the wave of patients with a disease presently without a remedy will be substantial , and could further strain our long - term care imagination , " Davis continued .
" Alzheimer ’s disease is a serious and thought-provoking disease , and we thought we had turned some of the lunar time period on it by reducing general peril factors such as high blood pressure , heart disease , obesity and a sedentary life-style . Now , so many people in the U.S. have had COVID and the longsighted - full term consequences of COVID are still come forth . It is of import to proceed to supervise the impact of this disease on succeeding handicap . "
The research was published in theJournal of Alzheimer ’s Disease .
