"Silent killer" – COVID-19 has been shown to trigger inflammation in the brain

Research led by the University of Queensland found that COVID-19 activates the same
inflammatory response in the brain as Parkinson's disease.

This finding identifies the potential future risk of neurodegenerative disease in COVID-19 patients and also identifies a possible treatment
.

The University of Queensland research team was led
by Professor Trent Woodruff and Dr Eduardo Albornoz Balmaceda from the University of Queensland's School of Biomedical Sciences and virologists from the School of Chemical and Molecular Biosciences.

Professor Woodruff said: "We looked at the effect of the virus on immune cells in the brain, known as 'microglia', which are key cells
involved in the progression of brain diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
"

"Our team grew human microglia in the lab and infected the cells
with SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.

"We found that these cells actually became 'angry,' activating the same pathway that Parkinson's and Alzheimer's proteins activate in disease – inflammasomes
.
"

Dr.
Albonoz Balmaceda says triggering the inflammasome pathway triggers a "fire" in the brain, starting a chronic and ongoing process
of killing neurons.

Dr Albonoz Balmaceda said: "It's a silent killer because you don't see any outward symptoms
for years.
"

"This may explain why some people infected with COVID-19 are more likely to have neurological symptoms
similar to Parkinson's disease.
"

The researchers found that the virus's spike protein was sufficient to kick-start the process, which is further exacerbated when a Parkinson's-associated protein is already present
in the brain.

Professor Woodruff said: "So if someone already has a predisposition to Parkinson's, contracting COVID-19 can be like pouring more fuel
on the 'fire' in the brain.
"

"The same applies to susceptibility to Alzheimer's and other dementias associated with inflammasomes
.
"

But the study also found a potential treatment
.

The researchers used a class of inhibitory drugs developed by the UK, which are currently in clinical trials
in Parkinson's patients.

"We found that it successfully blocked the inflammatory pathways activated by COVID-19, essentially extinguishing the fires
," said Dr.
Albonoz Balmaceda.

"This drug alleviates inflammation in mice infected with COVID-19 and microglia from humans, suggesting that it may be a treatment
to prevent neurodegeneration in the future.
"

Professor Woodruff said that while the similarities between the effects of COVID-19 and dementia on the brain were worrying, it also meant that a possible treatment already existed
.

"Further research is needed, but this could be a new way to treat the virus that could otherwise have immeasurable long-term health effects
.
"

The study was co-led by Dr Alberto Amarilla Ortiz and Associate Professor Daniel Watterson, with 33 co-authors from the University of Queensland and internationally
.

The study was published in
the journal Nature Molecular Psychiatry.

Journal Reference:

1. Eduardo A.
   Albornoz, Alberto A.
   Amarilla, Naphak Modhiran, Sandra Parker, Xaria X.
   Li, Danushka K.
   Wijesundara, Julio Aguado, Adriana Pliego Zamora, Christopher L.
   D.
   McMillan, Benjamin Liang, Nias Y.
   G.
   Peng, Julian D.
   J.
   Sng, Fatema Tuj Saima, Jenny N.
   Fung, John D.
   Lee, Devina Paramitha, Rhys Parry, Michael S.
   Avumegah, Ariel Isaacs, Martin W.
   Lo, Zaray Miranda-Chacon, Daniella Bradshaw, Constanza Salinas-Rebolledo, Niwanthi W.
   Rajapakse, Ernst J.
   Wolvetang, Trent P.
   Munro, Alejandro Rojas-Fernandez, Paul R.
   Young, Katryn J.
   Stacey, Alexander A.
   Khromykh, Keith J.
   Chappell, Daniel Watterson, Trent M.
   Woodruff.
   SARS-CoV-2 drives NLRP3 inflammasome activation in human microglia through spike protein.
   Molecular Psychiatry, 2022; DOI: 10.
   1038/s41380-022-01831-0

University of Queensland.
"'A silent killer' -- COVID-19 shown to trigger inflammation in the brain.
" ScienceDaily.
ScienceDaily, 1 November 2022.
<www.
sciencedaily.
com/releases/2022/11/221101100735.
htm>.

University of Queensland.
(2022, November 1).
'A silent killer' -- COVID-19 shown to trigger inflammation in the brain.
ScienceDaily.
Retrieved November 1, 2022 from www.
sciencedaily.
com/releases/2022/11/221101100735.
htm

University of Queensland.
"'A silent killer' -- COVID-19 shown to trigger inflammation in the brain.
" ScienceDaily.
www.
sciencedaily.
com/releases/2022/11/221101100735.
htm (accessed November 1, 2022).