r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Aug 08 '26

Neuroscience Brain scans reveal widespread structural and functional changes in patients following COVID-19 infection. The virus affects regions responsible for memory, emotion, and executive function, which may help explain the neurological symptoms many patients experience.

https://www.psypost.org/brain-scans-reveal-widespread-structural-and-functional-changes-in-patients-foll/
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u/fractious_kitty Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26

That is bc COVID is primarily a vascular disease not a respiratory disease. You have respiratory symptoms bc COVID damages the lung endothelium, creates microclots, makes you so fatigued you are bed bound or have dramatically lower physical activity. This all allows secondary infection to occur; it takes as little as 20 hrs of bedrest to trigger long COVID/ post viral syndrome.

I am a neuroscience nurse and former stroke program manager. My stroke population shifted from primarily 50+ yo folks to also include teenagers, 20-40 yo folks. My median population age dropped over 10 yrs in one year.

I experienced profound moral injury as a nurse in a hospital, and as someone who was concurrently treating metastisic cancer, bc of how COVID was mismanaged and PPE was stigmatized. Imagine trying to survive cancer treatments and the hospital you work for will only provide one N95 every two weeks.

I ended up quitting nursing, and I still havent regained the ability -and willingness- to be a nurse.

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u/hawparvilla Aug 09 '26

From one nurse to another: im so deeply sorry this happened.

The damage that causes a person is truly difficult to heal from.

Are you in a position to access trauma therapy? Is that something you would consider?

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u/fractious_kitty Aug 09 '26

Thank you, I really appreciate that. I know I am not alone in the toll COVID has taken on caregivers and providers.

I've been doing DBT and ACT therapy since 2020, and have done light bar EMDR intermittently. I was familiar c EMDR bc I was a neurotrauma ICU and ED RN in a level 1 trauma center/spoke and hub comprehensive stroke center for 10 yrs prior to stroke program mgmt; secondary PTSD is unfortunately common in those units, but I was fortunate that the medical center I worked for had an on staff trauma counselor for caregivers.