MQ Mental Health Research is delighted to be announcing a brand new study into the ongoing neurological effects of COVID-19.
Thanks to a generous grant from the Wolfson Foundation, this new study will be building on the success and learnings of the PHOSP COVID and COVID CNS studies that MQ has been supporting for the last two years, with the aim of developing new interventions for people experiencing Long COVID and more specifically ‘brain fog’.
What is brain fog?
People who have contracted Long COVID experience a range of symptoms, which can vary in severity and include extreme tiredness, shortness of breath, changes to taste and smell, chronic pain and problems with memory and concentration, referred to as ‘brain fog’.
Brain fog isn’t a scientific term but is more a description of how it feels when thinking is slowed, memory is ‘fuzzy’ and it is difficult to concentrate on anything.
“Physically it feels like there’s an air bubble at the front of my head all the time”
says Lesley, 60, who has been on long term sick leave from her role as an NHS Operations manager for the last 14 months due to her Long COVID symptoms.
“I have an underlying mild sense of panic at all times in case there’s something that I’ve forgotten - if there is something that I should be doing. I struggle to multitask, for example, something as simple as concentrating on sending a text is difficult when there’s a conversation in the room. All of which I could do previously.”
“I feel like the brain fog has taken the joy out of everything. It makes me feel intellectually inferior to my friends. I have to write things down to remember them and spend time on ‘brain training’ exercises in an attempt to claw back some of the mental capacity I once had and to feel normal again, but I now doubt that this will ever happen. I can’t think as quickly or express my thoughts as coherently as I could before and so I feel constant background anxiety. I mourn for the person I was.”
Little is yet known about COVID induced ‘brain fog’ other than how widespread it is. The PHOSP COVID study found that around 8% of people who have been hospitalised with COVID were still experiencing substantial cognitive impairment 6 months after infection, and 7% at 12 months.
According to the ONS figures on Long COVID published recently, over 1.3 million people in the UK were living with Long COVID symptoms as of the 6th of December 2021. Of those, 28% had difficulty concentrating and 20% said their ability to undertake day to day activities had been ‘limited a lot’.
In the UK up to 12% of people who are infected with COVID-19 go on to contract Long-COVID. Considering there have been nearly 300 million cases of COVID worldwide, the impact of ongoing cognitive impairment globally could be huge.
The effect on an individual’s life can be devastating.
“Brain fog feels like there is a connection missing in your brain”
says Lucy, 37 from Reading.
“Like the wiring has broken. Being unable to complete simple tasks that you wouldn’t have thought twice about before. I have been left unable to follow/understand basic instructions, i.e a cooking recipe.
My short-term memory has been affected where I can’t remember something I did or how I got there which can be quite unsettling. Living with brain fog will make you laugh or cry. Taking food out of the oven but forgetting to put oven gloves on so scalding yourself. Arriving at your daughter's birthday party but being horrified when you realise you booked it for the wrong day (Thankfully the staff took pity on me and squeezed them in so that it could still go ahead...)
My partner recently suggested I needed some sort of brain training or support as he was concerned. He wasn’t wrong but it was hard to hear from someone else. Up until recently, I had been really concerned I was developing early dementia, now I understand it is brain fog.”
What will this study do?
The aim of this new study is to identify the specific cognitive deficits underlying long-COVID induced brain fog, identify the mechanisms in the brain that cause the impairments and to develop and test interventions.
It is also hoped that what we learn about COVID induced brain fog in this study will help us to better understand brain fog more widely, as it is also a common symptom in other long-term conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis.
This study will be led by Oxford University and will include clinical and data researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Leicester who have already gathered 12 months of research data from over 2,000 people with long COVID.
"I am particularly grateful as I have met several patients with ‘brain fog’ following COVID infection, who have expressed to me how distressing and debilitating this COVID sequela can be", says NIHR Oxford Health BRC Senior Research Fellow, Maxime Taquet, from the University of Oxford and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.
"One patient who stuck with me was a gentleman who had been running his own business successfully for years and had to stop because he simply was finding simple tasks too confusing. I am hopeful that this study will deliver answers to pressing questions."
This new study would not have been made possible were it not for a grant from the Wolfson Foundation.
“The long-term impact of COVID-19 infection is poorly understood. It is, however, sadly clear that the long-term health effects will be profound - and be felt in societies across the globe. Wolfson has a longstanding interest in the research and treatment of neurological conditions and we are very pleased to be supporting MQ and their research partners in this crucial work.”
Paul Ramsbottom, chief executive of the Wolfson Foundation.
If you are experiencing Long COVID and would like help or advice there are organisations and support groups who can help.
- The NHS have an advice page for individuals in the UK who have contracted long COVID.
- Long COVID Support is a community where you can find information, resources and read stories about others who are experiencing long COVID.
- Long Covid SOS are another support group that is actively advocating for people living with Long COVID.
If your mental health has been impacted and you would like some support then please visit our Get Help Page.
