How COVID-19 Triggers Brain Inflammation Leading to Dangerous Neurological Conditions
Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Jul 08, 2025 6 hours, 49 minutes ago
Medical News: SARS-CoV-2 Infection May Spark Hidden Immune Storms in the Brain
Researchers from multiple leading Brazilian institutions have uncovered how COVID-19 causes serious neurological symptoms by igniting hidden inflammatory storms in the brain. Scientists from the Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas and Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (both part of Fundação Oswaldo Cruz), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Laboratório Neurolife, Hospital Federal dos Servidores do Estado, and Complexo Hospitalar de Niterói examined the biological mechanisms linking COVID-19 with brain inflammation.
How COVID-19 Triggers Brain Inflammation Leading to Dangerous Neurological Conditions
In this new research covered in this
Medical News report, the team studied cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood samples from 52 hospitalized patients in Brazil who had COVID-19 along with neurological problems. These patients had either persistent headaches, altered mental states (encephalopathy), or severe brain inflammation such as meningitis and encephalitis. The scientists compared them to uninfected individuals with non-inflammatory neurological issues.
Waves of Inflammation in the Brain
One of the most striking findings was that regardless of the specific neurological condition, many COVID-19 patients showed a marked increase in inflammation-related proteins within their CSF. This included cytokines like IL-2, IL-3, IL-6, IL-15, IL-25, IFN-α2, and GM-CSF—all markers of an aggressive immune reaction. However, those with encephalopathy and inflammatory neurological diseases (IND) showed even more elevated levels, pointing to what experts describe as a “cytokine storm” within the brain.
These cases also had high levels of neopterin, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-18, and HMGB1—all strongly associated with severe immune responses. Notably, brain-protective factors like β-NGF and EGF were also increased, suggesting the brain was trying to repair itself even while under attack.
Inflammation in the Blood Tells a Different Story
Interestingly, the inflammatory markers in blood told a different tale. While blood levels of IL-13, IL-18, TNF-α, TGF-α, VEGF, and VILIP-1 were elevated in nearly all COVID-19 patients with neurological symptoms, these blood patterns did not always match the severity of the brain inflammation. This suggests the brain and the body may respond to COVID-19 separately, each following its own immune path.
Another critical finding was that many patients with just severe headaches had very little evidence of brain inflammation but showed increased pressure in the skull—implying mechanical pressure, not infection or inflammation, might be causing pain in some cases.
Why This Matters
This study is among the most detailed explorations to date of how COVID-19 affects the brain at a molecular level. It shows that even without the virus
directly infecting the brain, immune responses can spiral out of control, causing potentially long-term neurological harm. It also explains why some patients only get headaches, while others end up with seizures or cognitive dysfunction.
Researchers noted that the cytokine storm is not only caused by the virus itself but also by the body’s immune cells already present in the brain—mainly microglia and astrocytes—which react intensely to systemic inflammation or viral fragments. Functional network analyses confirmed the activation of immune pathways, including JAK-STAT signaling, inflammasome activity, blood-brain barrier breakdown, and abnormal cell recruitment into the CNS.
Key Takeaway
The research underscores that COVID-19 is not just a respiratory disease but one that can damage the brain through intense inflammation. The extent of neurological damage may depend more on how a person’s immune system reacts than on the virus itself entering brain tissue. The study emphasizes the need for better screening and treatment of neuroinflammatory complications in both acute and long COVID cases.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Scientific Reports
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-08632-9
For the latest COVID-19 News, keep on logging to Thailand
Medical News.
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https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-study-finds-that-most-post-covid-individuals-who-only-had-mild-infections-suffer-from-asymptomatic-autonomic-dysregulation
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