Coronavirus infection increases the risk of Parkinson's disease. A new study confirms previous evidence that the virus makes neurons more vulnerable to damage or death.
Scientists at Thomas Jefferson University have concluded that the virus that causes COVID-19 may increase the risk of brain degeneration seen in Parkinson's disease. In laboratory mice, it has been found that their brains are more vulnerable to a toxin that increases the nerve cell loss seen in parkinsonism.
Parkinson's disease is a rare disease affecting 2% of the world's population over 55 years of age. Therefore, a slight increase in risk is not an immediate reason for a strong panic. But you need to understand how the coronavirus affects the brain, this will help prepare for the long-term consequences of the infection.
The US scientists' conclusions build on previous evidence that viruses can cause damage or death to brain cells called neurons. Thus, laboratory mice infected with the H1N1 influenza virus were more vulnerable to a toxin that provokes some of the characteristic symptoms of parkinsonism. (READ MORE) 
Thomas Jefferson University
Medicine
private medical university and a research and development center located in Philadelphia's business district