A 62-year-old US man dies from a fatal brain disease linked to COVID-19, highlighting a potential link between the virus and neurodegenerative diseases, particularly prion diseases. became.
The patient first presented to Mount Sinai Queens Hospital Center in New York two months after exhibiting symptoms including diffuse bradykinesia, drooling, dementia, and inability to walk. She also experienced confabulation. Additionally, he tested positive for COVID-19, but remained asymptomatic regarding typical respiratory symptoms.
According to a magazine published in American Case Report Journal, MRI results of the patient’s brain did not provide any significant insight. Nevertheless, due to strong clinical suspicion, the medical team ordered a CSF protein 14-3-3 test (COVID-19 test), which came back positive. Notably, his neurological condition worsened after he was diagnosed with COVID-19 and hospitalized. This case met the presumptive diagnostic criteria for prion disease (PrD), and the patient’s condition rapidly deteriorated and ultimately passed away.
This study further highlighted the relationship between COVID-19 and neurodegenerative diseases. However, he emphasized that a variety of neurodegenerative disorders can be caused by pathogenic diseases, with prion disorders being the most frequently cited example.
prion disease
according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Prion diseases, also known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), constitute a group of rare, slowly progressive neurodegenerative diseases that affect both humans and animals.
They are characterized by a prolonged latency period, characteristic spongy changes in brain tissue with neuronal loss, and lack of inflammatory response.
TSE is caused by prions. Prion is a term used to describe an abnormal, potentially contagious pathogen that promotes the abnormal folding of certain normal cellular proteins known as prion proteins. These prion proteins are primarily found in the brain, and their exact functions are still not fully understood.
Abnormal folding of these prion proteins causes brain damage and the characteristic clinical symptoms of these diseases. Prion diseases tend to progress rapidly and are always fatal.
