COVID-19 and Alzheimer’s disease

Brains of COVID-19 patients had some of the same pathological changes seen in Alzheimer's disease, which may explain the memory problems people with long COVID experience, a small study suggested.

The study, based on autopsies of 10 people who died with COVID-19, linked the inflammatory response found in SARS-CoV-2 infection with pathways causing tau hyperphosphorylation typically associated with Alzheimer's disease.

The data also indicated a role for leaky ryanodine receptor 2 (RyR2) in the pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the researchers wrote in Alzheimer's & Dementia.

The study shows that long COVID-19 brain fog may be a form of Alzheimer's disease, but much more research needs to be done before we can make more definitive conclusions.