Are pandemic-related stressors impacting uninfected people's brain
health?
Date:
February 22, 2022
Source:
Massachusetts General Hospital
Summary:
A new study reveals that living through the COVID-19 pandemic
may trigger brain inflammation that contributes to fatigue,
concentration difficulties, and depression.
FULL STORY ==========================================================================
New research indicates that for some individuals -- even those who
have steered clear of becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2 -- societal and lifestyle disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic may have triggered inflammation in the brain that can affect mental health. The study,
which was conducted by a team led by investigators at Massachusetts
General Hospital (MGH), is published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.
========================================================================== Beyond causing a staggering number of infections and deaths, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant social and economic disruptions that
have impacted the lives of a large swath of the world's population in
multiple ways.
Also, since the start of the pandemic, the severity and prevalence
of symptoms of psychological distress, fatigue, brain fog, and other
conditions have increased considerably in the United States, including
among people not infected with SARS-CoV-2.
To obtain a better understanding of the effects of the pandemic on brain
and mental health, researchers analyzed brain imaging data, conducted behavioral tests, and collected blood samples from multiple uninfected volunteers -- 57 before and 15 after lockdown/stay-at-home measures were implemented to limit the pandemic's spread.
After lockdowns, the study participants demonstrated elevated brain
levels of two markers of neuroinflammation -- translocator protein
(measured using positron emission tomography) and myoinositol (measured
using magnetic resonance spectroscopy) -- compared with pre-lockdown participants. Blood levels of two inflammatory markers -- interleukin-16
and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 -- were also elevated in
post-lockdown participants, although to a lesser extent.
Participants who reported a higher burden of symptoms related to mood
and mental and physical fatigue showed higher levels of translocator
protein in certain brain regions, compared with those reporting little
or no symptoms.
Also, higher post-lockdown translocator protein levels correlated with
the expression of several genes involved in immune functions.
"While COVID-19 research has seen an explosion in the literature, the
impact of pandemic-related societal and lifestyle disruptions on brain
health among the uninfected has remained under-explored," says lead
author Ludovica Brusaferri, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow at MGH
and Harvard Medical School. "Our study demonstrates an example of how the pandemic has impacted human health beyond the effects directly caused
by the virus itself." Senior author Marco L. Loggia, PhD, co-director
of the Center for Integrative Pain NeuroImaging at MGH and Harvard
Medical School notes that acknowledging a role of neuroinflammation
in the symptoms experienced by many during the pandemic might point
to possible strategies to reduce them. "For instance, behavioral or pharmacological interventions that are thought to reduce inflammation --
such as exercise and certain medications -- might turn out to be helpful
as a means of reducing these vexing symptoms." Loggia adds that the
findings also provide further support to the notion that stressful
events might be accompanied by brain inflammation. "This could have
important implication for developing interventions for a broad number
of stress-related disorders," he says.
Study co-authors include Zeynab Alshelh, Daniel Martins, Minhae Kim, Akila Weerasekera, Hope Housman, Erin J. Morrissey, Paulina C. Knight, Kelly A.
Castro-Blanco, Daniel S. Albrecht, Chieh-En Tseng, Nicole R. Zu"rcher,
Eva- Maria Ratai, Oluwaseun Akeju, Meena M. Makary, Ciprian Catana,
Nathaniel D.
Mercaldo, Nouchine Hadjikhani, Mattia Veronese, Federico Turkheimer,
Bruce R.
Rosen, and Jacob M. Hooker.
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and The
Landreth Family Foundation.
special promotion Explore the latest scientific research on sleep and
dreams in this free online course from New Scientist -- Sign_up_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Massachusetts_General_Hospital. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Ludovica Brusaferri, Zeynab Alshelh, Daniel Martins, Minhae Kim,
Akila
Weerasekera, Hope Housman, Erin J. Morrissey, Paulina C. Knight,
Kelly A.
Castro-Blanco, Daniel S. Albrecht, Chieh-En Tseng, Nicole
R. Zu"rcher, Eva-Maria Ratai, Oluwaseun Akeju, Meena M. Makary,
Ciprian Catana, Nathaniel D. Mercaldo, Nouchine Hadjikhani,
Mattia Veronese, Federico Turkheimer, Bruce R. Rosen, Jacob
M. Hooker, Marco L. Loggia. The pandemic brain: Neuroinflammation
in non-infected individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Brain,
Behavior, and Immunity, 2022; 102: 89 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2022.02.018 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220222135334.htm
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