Neurotrauma

Brain damage or brain injury is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells.

The 'neocortex' is part of the human brain's cerebral cortex where higher cognitive functioning is thought to originate from. It is thought to be responsible for the neuronal computations of attention, thought, perception and episodic memory. Structural similarity exists across the entire neocortex.

Whereas, the 'pineal gland' is a small, pea-shaped gland in the brain. Its function isn't fully understood. Researchers do know that it produces and regulates some hormones, including melatonin. Melatonin is best known for the role it plays in regulating sleep patterns. Sleep patterns are also called circadian rhythms.

The pineal gland was described as the “Seat of the Soul” by Renee Descartes and it is located in the center of the brain. The main function of the pineal gland is to receive information about the state of the light-dark cycle from the environment and convey this information to produce and secrete the hormone melatonin.

According to WebMD how COVID-19 damages the brain is becoming clearer. New evidence suggests that the coronavirus's assault on the brain could be multipronged: it might attack certain brain cells directly, reduce blood flow to brain tissue or trigger production of immune molecules that can harm brain cells.

The most comprehensive molecular study to date of brain tissue from people who died of COVID-19 provides clear evidence that SARS-CoV-2 causes profound molecular changes in the brain, despite no molecular trace of the virus in brain tissue.

Tony Wyss-Coray, PhD, professor of neurology and neurological sciences, 'Stanford University School of Medicine', Stanford, California, says: "The signature the virus leaves in the brain speaks of strong inflammation and disrupted brain circuits and resembles signatures the field has observed in Alzheimer's or other neurodegenerative diseases." (The study was published online June 21 in Nature)

'Harvard Medical School' affirms that it has become increasingly recognized, however, that the virus also attacks the nervous system.

'Johns Hopkins' indicates that cases around the world show that patients with COVID-19 can have a variety of conditions related to the brain, including: Confusion; loss of consciousness; seizures; stroke; loss of smell and taste; headaches; trouble focusing; and changes in behavior.

Patients are also having peripheral nerve issues, such as "Guillain-Barré syndrome" which, can lead to paralysis and respiratory failure. I estimate that at least half of the patients I’m seeing in the COVID-19 units have neurological symptoms.

'NIH National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke' researchers are following some known acute effects of the virus to determine their relationship to the post-acute complications of COVID-19 infection.

These post-acute effects usually include fatigue in combination with a series of other symptoms. These may include trouble with concentration and memory, sleep disorders, fluctuating heart rate and alternating sense of feeling hot or cold, cough, shortness of breath, problems with sleep, inability to exercise to previous normal levels, feeling sick for a day or two after exercising (post-exertional malaise), and pain in muscle, joints, and chest. It is not yet known how the infection leads to these persistent symptoms and why in some individuals and not others.

Matthew Butler, MD, of 'Kings College London', and co-authors in the 'Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience' says: "We strongly encourage clinicians to be aware of the possibility for Functional neurological disorder (FND) in response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations." He however adds: "FND can be a serious and debilitating condition; however, it does not implicate any vaccine constituents and should not hamper ongoing vaccination efforts."

Food for thought!