PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — It is being called “pandemic brain” and not everyone who suffers from it has had exposure to COVID-19.
Scientists can measure inflammatory markers in the brain that are associated with stress, mental fatigue and depression. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have been measuring these markers for quite some time and have noticed an increase during the pandemic.
The markers have been detected in people who have been infected with COVID-19, but evidence of this neuroinflammation has been found in people who have never tested positive for the disease.
The scientists are not just measuring these markers, they are also looking at MRI and PET scans to gain greater insight.
KYW Newsradio’s Medical Reports are sponsored by Independence Blue Cross.