June 15, 2020 | 4:38pm
The coronavirus is capable of infecting the brain and then replicating within the cells — with virus levels increasing tenfold within three days, a new study has found.
The new research, which is under peer review at the journal Altex but not yet published, looked at potential neurological effects of the illness by injecting the virus into lab-grown brains, which are developed from human stem cells, the Financial Times reported.
“It is really critical to know that our most precious organ can be directly affected by the virus,” said Thomas Hartung, a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, according to the outlet.
Hartung and his team discovered once the virus entered neurons in the artificial brains, it made copies of itself, the report said. The levels of the virus were found to increase 10 times in just three days.
But the research was unable to prove whether the virus can get past the blood-brain barrier of the brain that protects the organ against many viruses and chemicals, as well as often prevents infections.
Though the lab-grown brains share many features with real ones, they lack the blood-brain barrier, according to the report.
“Whether or not the Sars-Cov-2 virus passes this barrier has yet to be shown, but it is known that severe inflammations, such as observed in Covid-19 patients, make the barrier disintegrate,” Hartung told the newspaper.
More research into the neurological impacts of the virus could have important implications for treating patients, the report said.
If the virus does infect the brain, certain medications would not be effective since some cannot get past the blood-barrier, according to the report.
