Parkinson’s disease-related COVID-19 activation of the inflammatory response in the brain: Report

According to researchers, the COVID-19 causes the same inflammatory response in the brain as Parkinson’s disease.
The research team, led by the University of Queensland, discovered a potential future risk for neurodegenerative disorders in those who have had COVID-19, as well as a potential treatment. Published in Nature’s Molecular Psychiatry is the study.
The study’s principal author, Professor Woodruff, stated, “We looked at how the virus affected the immune cells called “microglia” in the brain, which are crucial to understanding how disorders like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s progress.
Dr. Albornoz Balmaceda, a co-author of the paper, claimed that activating the inflammasome pathway set off a “fire” in the brain that started a persistent and chronic process of destroying neurons.
” Thanks to a novel, similar pathway that Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s proteins may trigger in disease, we saw that the cells went “crazy,” he stated.. It is a silent killer because there are no particularly focused for many years.
It could explain why some COVID-19 patients are more likely to experience neurological symptoms resembling Parkinson’s disease, according to the researcher.
The researchers discovered that the virus’ spike protein was sufficient to initiate the process, which was made worse when Parkinson’s disease-related proteins were already present in the brain.
The same would hold true for a tendency for Alzheimer’s and other dementias that have been connected to inflammasomes, according to Professor Woodruff. According to him, if someone is already predisposed to Parkinson’s, having COVID-19 could be like putting more fuel to that “flame” in the brain.
However, after giving a family of inhibitory medicines created by UQ and currently being tested in clinical trials on Parkinson’s patients, the study also discovered a potential treatment.
Dr. Albornoz Balmaceda stated, “We discovered that successfully stopped the inflammatory pathway initiated by COVID-19, essentially putting out the fire.”
The medicine “reduced inflammation in both COVID-19-infected animals and the human microglia cells, suggesting a potential therapeutic approach to prevent neurodegeneration in the future,” the author continued.
Although the COVID-19 and dementia disorders’ similar effects on the brain were alarming, Professor Woodruff noted that it also suggested a potential cure was already known.
Professor Woodruff stated that although more research is required, this might be a novel way to cure a virus that would otherwise have far-reaching effects on one’s health.
The UQ team was directed by Professor Trent Woodruff, virologists from the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, as well as Dr. Eduardo Albornoz Balmaceda. They are all affiliated with UQ’s School of Biomedical Sciences.