COVID-19 can leave patients with lasting brain injuries, and doctors do not yet understand why. This study will follow hundreds of patients who developed neurological complications during the pandemic, comparing them with other hospitalised patients, to find out whether the virus invades the brain directly, triggers a damaging immune response, or disrupts the brain’s blood supply. Without this knowledge, doctors cannot choose the right treatment—whether antiviral drugs, immune-modulating therapies, or medications that improve blood flow. The research matters because brain complications from COVID-19 are not rare, and similar problems have followed past pandemics. If the team succeeds, they will produce clinical care guidelines commissioned by the World Health Organisation, identify which patients should enter targeted trials, and ultimately improve recovery for those affected. The study also builds a permanent, trial-ready cohort of consenting participants, so other researchers can access the data and samples for future work. This is applied clinical science with a direct path to changing how patients are treated.
View original technical description
COVID-19 patients frequently suffer brain problems during the infection and can be left with symptoms of brain injury. Similar problems have been seen in previous pandemics, including Spanish influenza over 100 years ago, but how and why this occurs is poorly understood. We have already been notified of 800 UK patients with these complications due to COVID-19. We have a unique opportunity to understand how these problems occur and develop strategies to prevent and treat them. The questions we will ask include in whom does COVID-19 cause injury? Does it do this by invading the brain? Or by triggering excessive immune responses or interfering with the blood supply to nervous tissue? We will answer these questions through in depth clinical, laboratory, and imaging studies of these 800 patients in comparison to 500 control patients (hospitalised during the pandemic with COVID-19 [400] or without COVID-19 [100]). Without this understanding, we cannot determine whether anti-viral medication, or treatments that modulate the immune system or that improve blood supply will help, and if so in which patients. We will apply this understanding through our World Health Organisation-commissioned Task Force (co-Chair Michael) to develop clinical care guidelines, identify patients for targeted clinical trials, and ultimately improve patient outcomes. We will consent all participants to the NIHR BioResource, establishing COVID-CNS as a trial ready cohort and ensuring data and sample access for other researchers. N.B. COVID-CNS is jointly led by co-PIs Benedict Michael and Gerome Breen
Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.
Is something wrong? Let us know