{"id":88132,"date":"2025-07-24T08:10:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T08:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/88132\/"},"modified":"2025-07-24T08:10:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T08:10:10","slug":"covid-can-cause-alzheimers-like-plaques-in-eyes-and-brain-sciencealert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/88132\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID Can Cause Alzheimer’s-Like Plaques in Eyes And Brain : ScienceAlert"},"content":{"rendered":"

COVID-19<\/a> could lead to a protein build-up similar to that seen in Alzheimer’s<\/a> patients \u2013 not just in the brain, but also in the eyes, according to a new study.<\/p>\n

This may explain why ‘brain fog’, an umbrella term for issues with memory or cognition, is often reported as a symptom of COVID-19<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a new study led by Yale University, researchers sought to illuminate apparent similarities between COVID brain fog and Alzheimer’s, investigating whether SARS-CoV-2 can lead to Alzheimer’s-like plaques that might explain post-infection brain fog.<\/p>\n

Related: Severe COVID Looks Scarily Like Old Age in The Human Brain, Study Finds<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

“There is growing evidence linking COVID-19 and brain fog, a commonly reported symptom following infection,” says<\/a> senior author Brian Hafler, ophthalmologist at Yale School of Medicine.<\/p>\n

“While the mechanisms of brain fog after COVID-19 are not fully understood, scientists have found that SARS-CoV-2 can induce amyloid beta accumulation in the central nervous system.”<\/p>\n

Retinas are part of the central nervous system, and as two of the system’s most clinically accessible parts, they may offer a window into more than just the soul.<\/p>\n

Previous research<\/a> has shown amyloid beta accumulates in the retinas as well as brains of Alzheimer’s patients, suggesting retinal testing may offer a practical method for large-scale Alzheimer’s diagnosis and monitoring.<\/p>\n

To investigate, the researchers used postmortem human retinal tissue and grew retinal organoids<\/a> \u2013 small, 3D retina models derived from human stem cells<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They analyzed various cell types found in retinal tissue, measuring RNA within cell nuclei to determine the protein production of different cells.<\/p>\n

They focused on two proteins \u2013 neuropilin-1 (NRP1) and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) \u2013 previously identified as possible targets exploited by SARS-CoV-2 to infiltrate neurons.<\/p>\n

NRP1 turned up in neurons and glial cells from retinal tissue of people who had COVID, pointing to a possible entry point for viruses<\/a> into human eyes.<\/p>\n

People with no history of dementia still showed elevated amyloid beta buildup if they had a COVID history, often yielding Alzheimer’s-like retinal tissue.<\/p>\n

Amyloid beta levels also rose in retinal organoids after exposure to SARS-CoV-2’s spike protein, which helps the virus enter host cells.<\/p>\n

\"MicroscopyMicroscopy image of a human retinal organoid<\/a> that has been exposed to SARS-CoV-2. The organoid has developed amyloid beta aggregates (green) that colocalize with SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (red). Cell nuclei are stained blue. (Sean J. Miller\/Yale<\/a>)<\/p>\n

When researchers added an NRP1 inhibitor to the mix, however, they managed to counter the amyloid beta increase that otherwise occurred in retinal tissue exposed to the coronavirus spike protein.<\/p>\n

This hints at the possibility of targeting NRP1 to combat neurological complications of COVID, such as those commonly labeled brain fog.<\/p>\n

“Mechanistically, the involvement of NRP1 in amyloid beta aggregation gives a specific molecular target for future investigation,” Hafler says<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Our study showed that exposure to SARS-CoV-2, in particular spike protein, can lead to the formation of amyloid beta aggregates in both human retinal tissue and retinal organoids.”<\/p>\n

Beyond shedding light on COVID brain fog, the study also lends support to the idea that amyloid beta is like a bodyguard for the brain, Hafler says.<\/p>\n

Long suspected<\/a> of causing Alzheimer’s, these plaques are now widely seen more as indicators of underlying danger.<\/p>\n

Amyloid beta is still poorly understood, but it’s structurally similar to known antimicrobial peptides, and some research suggests it may play an important role in the brain’s immune system.<\/p>\n

Since Alzheimer’s can weaken the blood-brain barrier, amyloid beta buildup could indicate the brain’s attempts to fend off microbial intruders.<\/p>\n

“It bolsters the amyloid beta antimicrobial hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting that amyloid beta could act as part of the brain’s innate immune response against viral infections,” he says<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other viruses may trigger similar amyloid beta buildups, the authors point out, noting the need for more research to investigate.<\/p>\n

Hafler and his colleagues, for their part, are now conducting clinical studies in hopes of revealing whether COVID can raise long-term Alzheimer’s risk.<\/p>\n

“Our ultimate goal is to prevent long-term neurological effects of COVID-19 and explore NRP1 inhibitors and other modulators of virus-host interactions as potential therapeutics for preventing viral-induced amyloid pathology and Alzheimer’s disease,” Hafler says<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The study was published in Science Advances<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COVID-19 could lead to a protein build-up similar to that seen in Alzheimer’s patients \u2013 not just in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":88133,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[210,352,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-88132","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-msft-content","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114907199845137912","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88132\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}