Why Does COVID cause Brain Fog? Scientists Try To Find Out

February 24, 2022, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

Many people who have even milder cases of COVID complain of brain fog while they are symptomatic, but for some, the ‘fog’ continues well past when the other symptoms resolve. For others ‘fog’ seems too mild a word to describe their condition.

What is Brain Fog?

Harvard Medical School describes COVID-19 brain fog as

Brain fog is not a medical or scientific term; it is used by individuals to describe how they feel when their thinking is sluggish, fuzzy, and not sharp.
We all experience this feeling from time to time. Perhaps you couldn’t think clearly when you were sick with the flu or another illness. Maybe you were jet-lagged and your thinking was sluggish because it felt like it was 2 AM. Or perhaps you took an antihistamine or another medication that made your thinking fuzzy for a few hours. In each case you probably just waited to get back to normal, whether that meant recovering from your illness, adjusting to the new time zone, or waiting for the side effects of the medication to wear off.

Who is Doing Research?

Now that we are two years into the pandemic doctors throughout the world have had a chance to document this brain fog. Some cases are mild and short-term and others seem far more serious and extend for long periods of time. Brain fog remains one of the most persistent and troubling COVID-19 symptoms.

The researchers at the University of Toronto, at Sunnybrook Health Sciences, and at CAMH are all focused on analyzing brain imaging in order to understand the brain issues and to hopefully develop treatments.
Long COVID defined by the WHO as post-COVID that lasts more than three months after the initial illness has a range of symptoms commonly including fatigue, cognitive dysfunction and shortness of breath.

How Many People Suffer Brain Fog?

Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table makes a conservative estimate that there are between 57,000 and 78,000 Ontarians living with long COVID. The implications of brain fog are significant. There are many people who are unable to work, live their family life, look after their children. Some people are very impaired by the condition. Harvard medical school estimates that somewhere between 10-30% of individuals recovered from acute COVID-19 have unabating, non-specific and functionally impairing symptoms including brain fog.

So What Does the Research Say?

Clinical trials are now underway using vortiozetine, an anti-depressant, in hopes that it can help those with COVID brain impairment. You can read the specifications of the trials here. The completion date for the study is estimated to be September 2022. Hopefully, this study and others like it will provide treatment options for those suffering.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.