A third of patients who developed COVID-19 experience a persisting, diverse array of symptoms including respiratory, neurological, and psychiatric complaints referred to as post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). Symptoms can last for months after the original infection and appear unrelated to the severity of the initial illness, which suggests that even patients who did not require extensive interventions at the acute stage may experience new and/or long-term symptoms. Brain fog is a colloquial term for a common complaint among patients with PASC and generally implies cognitive impairment in domains of attention and processing speed. There are multiple hypotheses for etiologies and explanations of mechanisms contributing to brain fog in PASC. In this paper, we describe some of the mechanisms associated with brain fog post COVID-19 and provide readers with treatment recommendations that encompass cognition, mood disorders, sleep disorders, and neuroinflammation.
Keyphrases
- coronavirus disease
- sars cov
- white matter
- resting state
- sleep quality
- cognitive impairment
- cerebral ischemia
- liver failure
- functional connectivity
- physical activity
- respiratory failure
- respiratory syndrome coronavirus
- drug induced
- mental health
- traumatic brain injury
- preterm infants
- aortic dissection
- working memory
- high resolution
- lipopolysaccharide induced
- subarachnoid hemorrhage
- intensive care unit
- mass spectrometry
- lps induced
- cord blood
- replacement therapy
- brain injury
- acute respiratory distress syndrome
- gestational age
- smoking cessation
- high density