Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Jan 21, 2026 1 hour, 59 minutes ago
Medical News: A major new scientific review has confirmed that COVID-19 causes far more serious and long-lasting damage to the brain and nerves than other common viral infections such as influenza or dengue. The findings help explain why so many COVID-19 survivors continue to suffer from memory problems weakness loss of smell and even strokes long after the infection appears to have cleared.
COVID-19 causes more severe and lasting brain and nerve damage than flu or dengue according to a major global review
This
Medical News report is based on a large systematic review led by researchers from the Department of General Medicine at Ternopil State Medical University in Ukraine, the Department of Cardiology at Izhevsk State Medical Academy in Russia, the Department of Interventional Cardiology at Iwosan Lagoon Hospital in Lagos-Nigeria, the Division of Cardio Nephrology at Cardiac Renal and Vascular Associates in Jackson-United States and the Faculty of Medicine at Near East University in Nicosia-Cyprus.
Why the Study Was Conducted
Doctors have long known that viral infections can sometimes affect the brain and nervous system. However, until now it was unclear whether COVID-19 behaves like other viruses or causes a unique pattern of neurological damage. To answer this question the researchers carefully reviewed 24 high quality studies published between 2000 and 2025 comparing COVID-19 with influenza and dengue infections.
COVID-19 Shows the Widest Brain and Nerve Damage
The review revealed that COVID-19 affects both the central nervous system which includes the brain and spinal cord and the peripheral nervous system which controls movement sensation and smell. COVID-19 patients were found to have unusually high rates of strokes, inflammation of the brain, seizures, confusion and severe damage to white matter deep inside the brain. In some hospitalized patients with COVID-19 related strokes, mortality reached 50 percent - which is far higher than what is typically seen with other viral infections.
Autopsy studies showed extensive inflammation and injury in the brains of people who died from COVID-19 even when the virus itself was no longer detectable in brain tissue. This suggests that immune reactions, blood vessel damage and oxygen deprivation play major roles in brain injury.
Persistent Symptoms After Recovery
One of the most alarming findings was the persistence of neurological symptoms. About one third of COVID-19 survivors continued to show nerve abnormalities months after recovery. Loss of smell and taste, nerve pain, weakness, tremors and walking difficulties were commonly reported. Specialized nerve tests confirmed ongoing damage to peripheral nerves even in people who had mild initial illness.
How Influenza and Dengue Compare
Influenza was found to cause neurological complications far less often. When it did the most common problems were seizures and brain inflammation usually in severe cases. Most influenza patients recovered fully with low m
ortality. Dengue infections sometimes affected the nervous system through inflammation or immune reactions but again most patients recovered and death rates remained low.
What Makes COVID-19 Different
Unlike influenza and dengue, COVID-19 stands out for the sheer range severity and persistence of neurological problems. The virus appears to trigger widespread inflammation, abnormal blood clotting and immune attacks on nerve tissue. These effects explain why COVID-19 can cause strokes, memory problems and nerve damage even in younger individuals without prior illness.
Conclusions
The findings clearly show that COVID-19 is not just another respiratory virus but a disease with profound and lasting effects on the brain and nervous system.
Compared to influenza and dengue, COVID-19 causes more severe neurological injury affects more parts of the nervous system and leaves many survivors with long term symptoms. These results highlight the urgent need for early neurological screening structured follow up and long-term care for COVID-19 patients to prevent disability and improve recovery outcomes.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Cureus.
https://www.cureus.com/articles/449661-neurological-complications-associated-with-covid-19-compared-to-other-viral-infections-a-systematic-review-of-current-evidence#!/
For the latest COVID-19 news, keep on logging to Thailand
Medical News.
Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/coronavirus
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/long-covid
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