Coronavirus can cause brain fog, hair loss, and even erectile dysfunction, and now a new case in New York shows that it can also contribute to fatal prion disease.
A 62-year-old man was admitted to a hospital in New York, Mount Sinai Queens Hospital Center, after he had difficulty walking and showed signs of rapidly progressive dementia, according to American Journal of Case Reports.
The paper states, "Clinically, he experienced worsening neurological function after having been COVID-19 positive on admission."
The patient was eventually diagnosed with prion disease, and his case has raised questions about whether Covid could have triggered the illness.
Doctors performed a series of tests on the man, including CT and MRI scans of the brain, "both of which were repeated twice and were normal without any diffusion restriction."
However, his condition continued to deteriorate.
"Approximately 3 weeks into hospitalization, the patient became progressively mute and had difficulty swallowing soft foods, requiring PEG [percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy] tube placement," the doctors wrote of the need for the feeding tube. "He subsequently became spastic with severe pain on passive flexion-extension. Six weeks after admission, the patient was declared dead."
The doctors in the report say the circumstances provide evidence of a "potential correlation" between Covid and neurodegenerative conditions.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Prion disease is "a family of rare progressive neurodegenerative disorders that affect both humans and animals. They are distinguished by long incubation periods, characteristic spongiform changes associated with neuronal loss, and a failure to induce inflammatory response." Prion diseases are fatal.
Symptoms of prion disease include changes in gait and difficulty walking, hallucinations, confusion, muscle stiffness, fatigue, and difficulty speaking, according to The Independent.
The doctors in the report said that this is not the first time a patient has died from prion disease following Covid-19 infection. The doctors said that it has happened at least three other times since the virus emerged.
The report said, "Evidence in the literature about an association between COVID-19 and neurodegeneration is unclear," the study said. "Nonetheless, it is evident that multiple neurodegenerative conditions might be a result of pathogenic illnesses, most commonly prion disorders."
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