An observational study published in Nature Medicine looks at a link between abnormal brain proteins and COVID-19 infection.
Prof Tara Spires-Jones, Director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Group Leader in the UK Dementia Research Institute, and President of the British Neuroscience Association said:
“This paper from Duff and colleagues examined blood samples from 626 people who had COVID-19 infection and 626 people who did not have COVID-19 for markers associated with Alzheimer’s disease-related brain changes. The scientists compared the levels of several Alzheimer’s-associated blood proteins before and after the pandemic and found that one of the markers had worsened more in people who had COVID-19 infections than in people who were not infected with COVID-19. This study was very well conducted and adds to the data suggesting that infections may play a role in initiating or accelerating neurodegenerative diseases. However, it is important to note that this type of study cannot conclusively prove that COVID-19 directly caused Alzheimer’s pathology in the brain. Further, the presence of amyloid pathology in the brain, which is hinted at by the blood results, is not a guarantee of future dementia symptoms as many people have amyloid pathology in their brains without experiencing symptoms. While this is an important piece of research, more work is needed to understand links between infections like COVID-19 and Alzheimer’s disease.”
‘Plasma proteomic evidence for increased β-amyloid pathology after SARS-CoV-2 infection’ by Eugene P. Duff et al. was published in Nature Medicine at 10:00 UK time on Thursday 30th January.
DOI: 10.1038/s41591-024-03426-4
Declared interests
Prof Tara Spires-Jones: I have no direct conflicts with this study but I do work in the same National UK Dementia Research Institute as several of the authors and have received payments for consulting, scientific talks, or collaborative research over the past 10 years from AbbVie, Sanofi, Merck, Scottish Brain Sciences, Jay Therapeutics, Cognition Therapeutics, Ono, and Eisai. I am also Charity trustee for the British Neuroscience Association and the Guarantors of Brain and serve as scientific advisor to several charities and non-profit institutions.