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Does #SARSCoV2 increase risk of
Parkinson’s Disease (PD)? Recent reports documented PD onset following severe #COVID19 in a 35, 45, & 58 year old. They developed severe motor symptoms; brain imaging revealed reduced function of dopamine system, akin to PD
Parkinson’s Disease (PD)? Recent reports documented PD onset following severe #COVID19 in a 35, 45, & 58 year old. They developed severe motor symptoms; brain imaging revealed reduced function of dopamine system, akin to PD
2. Possible mechanisms include: (a) blood clots and other circulatory problems that occur in some COVID patients could reduce blood flow to brain and to dopamine system or (b) inflammation caused by severe COVID-19 could trigger neuroinflammation and demise of dopamine neurons.
3. Consistent with this, another study looked at brains of COVID19 patients post-mortem and found an inflammatory response response in their brains—the activation of microglia & cytotoxic T cells—which are neuropathological signs that are also associated with Parkison's Disease.
4. Third possibility is that SARS-CoV-2 may invade dopamine neurons, which do express the ACE2 protein—the receptor the virus needs to enter cells. But it isn't clear whether and to what extent SARS-CoV-2 is able to infect brain cells. More studies needed to shed light on this.
5. "While acute parkinsonism in conjunction with COVID-19 appears to be rare, spread of SARS-CoV-2 widely in society might lead to a high proportion of patients being predisposed to developing PD later in life" https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166223620302423#bb0030
