Study Finds Spike Mutations Help COVID Infect the Brain

The findings could shed more light on the cause of ‘long COVID,’ researchers say.

This scanning electron microscope image shows the novel coronavirus (orange), which causes COVID-19 disease, isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells (green) cultured in the lab. Photo published on Feb. 13, 2020. NIAID-RML

Scientists announced they have found a mutation in the COVID-19 virus that plays a role in its capacity to infect a person’s central nervous system and brain.

They said the study, published in Nature Microbiology, could shed more light on “long COVID,” or symptoms persisting for weeks or months after an infection.