Scientists have found that all subtypes of dementia behave like rapidly progressive dementia after being infected with COVID-19.
Image: Jcomp/Freepik Author: medical editor Ekaterina Mazeina< /span> 1 minute
According to a new study, SARS-CoV-2 infection has a significant impact on cognitive function in patients with pre-existing dementia. Patients with all subtypes of dementia included in the study experienced rapidly progressive dementia after covid infection.
An international team of scientists investigated the impact of COVID-19 on cognitive impairment in 14 patients with pre-existing dementia (four with Alzheimer's disease, five with vascular dementia, three with Parkinson's disease dementia, and two with a behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia) who suffered further cognitive decline after COVID-19.
The researchers suggested that COVID-19 should have some -some harmful effect on patients with pre-existing dementia, extrapolating understanding of the cognitive impact of this viral infection on patients without dementia. In addition to finding that all subtypes of dementia behaved like rapidly progressive dementia after COVID-19, the scientists found that the line of demarcation between different types of dementia became surprisingly blurred after illness.