Coronavirus can attack the brain through the nose

We are still discovering how the body reacts to the presence of a new coronavirus and how it penetrates its individual parts. The idea that SARS-CoV-2 could penetrate the nervous system is frightening, and the preliminary results don’t look good at all.

The upper part of the nasal cavity, known as nazofarynx, is considered one of the first sites of infection and replication of the new coronavirus and can also represent a weak point in the defenses of our brain.

SARS-CoV-2 crosses the barrier

The human brain is protected by the blood-brain barrier, which separates any toxins or pathogens from it. However, some viruses, including several coronaviruses, are able to cross this barrier. And, unfortunately, SARS-CoV-2 appears to be one of them, according to the Science Alert portal.

A team of scientists from Charité – University Medicine Berlin examined using samples from 33 autopsies of patients who died from COVID-19 with a mean age of 72 years. They published their findings in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Using the latest technology, the researchers analyzed samples taken from the olfactory mucosa and four parts of the brain. Samples were tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material.

Through the olfactory nerve

And he, unfortunately, is found in the mucous membrane, as well as in different areas of the brain. The researchers began looking for how he got there, identifying long fibrous protrusions of the olfactory nerves as a possible path around the blood-brain barrier.

The analysis also found traces of coronavirus RNA in areas of the brain that don’t have a direct connection to the olfactory nerve, suggesting that the virus may have entered the other side.

This could be done, for example, through endothelial cells that can cross the blood-brain barrier to transfer vital resources to the brain system.

The truth is, however, that autopsies were performed on the deceased with very severe manifestations of COVID-19. Therefore, in people with mild or moderate symptoms, the coronavirus may not be transmitted to the brain.