Author: Sam Bazzi

I had previously written about an autopsy study that found SARS-CoV-2 RNA existed in the brain, providing evidence for direct viral infiltration into the CNS (Puelles et al., 2020) – however, this virus is likely causing neurological symptoms in ways beyond direct infiltration. Writing in The Lancet Microbe, Schurink et al. provide evidence that the…

Over the past few months, I have come across case studies that have described psychosis and delirium as potential symptoms of COVID-19, but none have described persistent psychosis after infection with COVID-19. This week, a report in The British Journal of Psychiatry describes such a case in the UK (Lim, et al., 2020). The patient…

Autoimmune disorders that affect the brain can take many forms beyond the most well-known example of multiple sclerosis (MS). Autoimmune encephalitis and autoimmune epilepsy can also occur, but like MS, their etiology is unknown. It has been suggested that autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, among others, may be triggered by viral infections in…

At its recent international conference in late July 2020, the Alzheimer’s Association has announced an international study to evaluate the long-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 on brain cognition and function, with some focus on how the virus may affect Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias. This study is also being coordinated by the University of Texas Health…

Losing one’s sense of smell and taste is now well-established as an early sign of SARS-CoV-2 infection – to this point (and my chagrin), I must attest to the fact that I have not experienced these symptoms every morning to get clearance to enter my building at work. Unfortunately, a case study from France has…

As the USA confronts both COVID-19 and issues regarding race, I think it is important to highlight one big way that these issues intersect: disparities in health outcomes during this pandemic. There are many social barriers, as well as lack of scientific knowledge, that have led to African Americans having generally worse health outcomes (Mays,…

Since starting this blog, a lot of the literature I’ve written about has been circling around the idea that SARS-CoV-2 may infect the brain. We’ve seen neurological symptoms in patients and in vitro assays showing viral invasion of human iPSC-derived neurons, but this week I found a paper published back in May that revealed SARS-CoV-2…

It’s been a long week of processing COVID-19 patient blood. After handling vial after vial of blood in a very controlled laboratory environment, it’s easy to forget the unpredictable nature of this virus’s presentation in clinical settings, so I’m excited to be able to sit down at the end of the week and learn more…

July 28, 2020 by Sam Bazzi Since our lab has begun studies on COVID-19 during the past month, I must apologize to my readers for not posting as frequently. It’s been very exciting to finally get back in the lab regularly, but I only wish that it was under more pleasant circumstances (and without N95…