2022, Covid & Senility

So over the last year or so I've noticed something odd on the forum:

A large number (larger than normal anyway  ) of off-topic posts.
Posts in threads that have absolutely no relation to the topic - so far off they can't even be called off-topic, they're just completely misplaced.
An increase in blathering - literally posting for the sake of posting, almost as if had the individual been in a real life group conversation they would be feeling left out by having nothing to contribute to the topic at hand, so they simply blurt out some random semi-relevant statement.

Knowing Covid has been with us for 2 odd years, and as such many of us would have contracted the virus (knowingly or not) I thought maybe some google-fu was in order.

And hey presto!

Apart from the known effects that prolonged isolation can bring about, namely anxiety, depression and insomnia, there is evidence that it also seems to have negative effects on the brain and the ability to think - in both humans and animals!

For example, we know that people with richer social networks and engagement have a reduced rate of cognitive decline over time. Lisa F. Berkman of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of nearly 17,000 subjects age 50 and older from 1998 to 2004. Subjects were cognitively assessed with a simple word-recall test and then afterward at two-year intervals; meanwhile, social integration was measured by contact with family, friends and other social activities. The results showed that people with the highest level of social engagement had less than half the decline in their cognitive function of the least socially active subjects. Clearly, isolation is harmful to our brains.

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Some more google-fu brought up possible links between Covid & Dementia!

Some studies have reported that as many as 84% of patients with severe Covid-19 experience mental confusion and rapid mood changes after they recover. Even if the true frequency of lasting brain damage is lower, the number of people with lasting cognitive problems will be substantial because so much of the population has been infected.

The loss of smell and taste in Covid-19 patients emerged as one of the first signs that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is affecting the brain. A team of researchers looking at the brains of deceased Covid-19 patients found that the virus can remain in the brain after death. Other observations from these autopsies revealed small blood vessels in different areas of the brain were leaking as if patients had suffered mini-strokes. A team of researchers has reported in the January (my inclusion for clarity: January 2021) issue of Alzheimer?s & Dementia that the brain inflammation and mini-strokes observed in Covid-19 patients may place them at increased risk of developing Alzheimer?s disease and other dementias.

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Ongoing research is showing that more than 90% of people infected with the virus have reported at least one neurological symptom, with many reporting more than one, and these symptoms often linger long after the infection clears - colloquially termed "Covid Confusion". Research has also found cognitive problems among people with a wide range of Covid illness severity. One of the most common was a decline in executive function skills, which allow people to plan, focus, follow instructions and multitask - with the risk for cognitive impairment rising the more ill people got; those who were hospitalized were more likely to have cognitive impairments in the area of attention, executive function, memory coding and memory recall than those who were treated as outpatients. Impaired executive function can also impact memory & the speed at which the brain can process information.
Because executive function impairment is associated with the development of dementia, there is concern about later neurodegeneration in the post-Covid population (if we ever get to a post-Covid situation).


So it seems 2022 (2020 Too?) (20202?) will be an interesting year as dementia and senility increase.

That's my senile blathering done for the day  :angel: