Covid infection could have a deleterius impact on your mood and memory, according to a new study. It comes as a new variant – JN.1 – drives up hospitalizations across the country.
For the latest study, researchers used lab-grown human stem cells to measure Covid’s effect on heart, lung and pancreatic cells.
But they were surprised to find that dopamine cells were the only ones that deteriorated.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and hormone associated with pleasure, motivation, movement and learning. The findings could explain common long Covid symptoms like lethargy, depression and brain fog.
“This was a completely unexpected result,” said study author Dr. Shuibing Chen in a press release.
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At the same time, researchers identified three drugs that could stave off Covid’s impact on dopamine: riluzole, which treats ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease; metformin, which treats diabetes; and imatinib, which treats cancer.
They warn that Covid patients should be monitored for an increased risk of Parkinson’s Disease, given that dopamine senescence is a hallmark of the disease.
However, they cautioned that not everyone’s dopamine will be affected, as factors like genetics and the severity of Covid infection influence the process.
Covid hospitalizations are up for the ninth straight week as the new JN.1 variant rages on, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Emergency department visits with diagnosed flu, Covid, and RSV remain high, and for the week ending January 6, weekly Covid hospitalizations rose to 35,801, up more than 1,000 from the week before.