• Are pandemic-related stressors impacting

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Tue Feb 22 21:31:36 2022
    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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