Carried viral diseases, in particular, coronavirus infection, can trigger the process of cognitive disorders, leading, in particular, to dementia, said Deputy Director of the Scientific Centre of Neurology, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Marine Tanashyan. She named an unobvious factor provoking the development of dementia in a conversation with aif.ru.
The neurologist explained that in case of inadequate inflammation, tissues of the nervous system are involved in the pathological process, which sometimes leads to damage of neurons and cells feeding them. “Therefore, inflammation is now seen as the starting point for the development of cognitive impairment, of which dementia becomes the extreme manifestation. Inflammation also influences the main causes of dementia development – vascular and neurodegenerative changes in the brain,” Tanashyan explained.
The doctor added that many viruses can initiate cognitive disorders, including the coronavirus, after which people complain of memory loss, deterioration of attention and “fog in the head”. Tanashyan specified that it is possible that such people had cognitive disorders before the virus, which would lead to dementia in 15-20 years.
