DZNE coordinates EU-funded study
Bonn/Germany, March 5th, 2024. Under the lead of DZNE, scientists from Bonn, Berlin and Milan are investigating the causes of neurological complaints that occur in temporal association with a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Individuals with such a “neurological post-COVID syndrome” who are interested in participating in this study can contact the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB). Adults who have had a corona infection but do not show related neurological symptoms may also join as controls.
“Post-COVID syndrome” is a collective term for a variety of health problems that can persist for more than three months after a corona infection. The current study focuses on a subset of these symptomatology, specifically neurological complaints. “We want to better understand this clinical picture and thus pave the way for more effective treatment,” explains Joachim Schultze, Director of Systems Medicine at DZNE and professor at the University of Bonn. “Our study is aimed at individuals whose mental performance has declined in temporal association with corona infection. This can include memory and concentration problems, but also other symptoms that indicate impaired brain function. Such as word-finding difficulties or problems in planning and carrying out complex tasks.”
Focus on the immune system
The causes of such after-effects of a corona infection are as yet unclear. However, Schultze’s team is following up on a specific hypothesis. “According to current knowledge, the corona virus does not usually reach the brain. Therefore, we suspect that it is indirectly affected. Namely, through the immune system’s reaction to the corona infection. The immune response releases masses of inflammatory mediators. These can get into the brain and, in a sense, cause collateral damage, even if the virus does not go all the way there,” says Schultze. Even if a corona infection occurred some time ago, the immune system can still be in an altered state, he reckons.
Molecular fingerprint
The research team will apply state-of-the-art technology to get to the bottom of these causes. Blood samples from the study participants play a central role in this. “We use so-called transcriptomics to determine the activity of white blood cells, i.e. the activity of the immune cells in the blood, and we use this to create a kind of molecular fingerprint,” says Schultze. “This allows us to detect disease-related changes in the immune system that conventional laboratory techniques cannot.”
To participate in the study
“For volunteers, study participation includes a comprehensive examination of their cognitive abilities, the collection of blood and, if necessary, cerebrospinal fluid from the back,” says Prof. Gabor Petzold, a neurologist at UKB and head of the clinical study team. This requires a total of three visits to UKB within one year. In order to identify relevant changes in the immune system of patients, it is necessary to examine not only patients but also so-called controls who have had a corona a infection, but do not show neurological symptoms as a result of the infection. Anyone interested in participating can contact the study team via the website www.neurocov.de (German).