Long COVID: Antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid linked with brain fog

Brain fog, or cognitive dysfunction, is one of the most common symptoms that health professionals observe in individuals with long COVID, or post-acute COVID-19.A recent study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) suggests a link between the presence of persistent cognitive symptoms several months after a SARS-CoV-2 infection and the presence of abnormalities in the cerebrospinal fluid.The study also found that individuals with persistent cognitive symptoms were likely to have a higher number of preexisting risk factors associated with cognitive dysfunction before the SARS-CoV-2 infection.These results may provide a clue for understanding the mechanisms and predisposing factors that lead to cognitive dysfunction in individuals with long COVID.The study appears in the journal Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology.A substantial minority of individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection continue to experience symptoms beyond the initial 3–4 weeks after contracting the virus.