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According to a UK study, blood clots in the brain or lungs may be the cause of some "long Covid" symptoms, such as weariness and brain fog.

Researchers claim two blood proteins in the study's 1,837 patients brought to the hospital due to Covid hint to clots as one of the causes.

For at least six months, it is estimated that 16% of these people struggle with thinking, concentrating, or remembering.

Infections that are less severe can also lead to Long Covid.

However, the Oxford and Leicester universities' research team emphasizes the following:

Only patients who are hospitalized should be concerned about their findings.
They are "the first piece of the jigsaw," but more investigation is required before any viable treatments can be proposed or tested.
Only at six and twelve months and using tests and questionnaires that may "lack sensitivity" did they track cognitive issues.

Finding indicators and potential causes was "a key step" in comprehending post-Covid brain fog, according to Prof. Paul Harrison of the University of Oxford, who is the study's lead author.

Long Covid could have a variety of causes, though.

Chris Brightling, a professor of respiratory medicine at Leicester University, stated: "It's a combination of someone's health before, the acute event itself, and what happens afterwards that lead on to physical and mental health consequences."

Dr. Simon Retford, a university lecturer from Lancashire, contracted Covid in October 2020 and spent two weeks in a coma. His family was warned to prepare for the worst.

He is currently between 60 and 70 percent of where he was previously, but he continues to struggle with concentration, short-term memory loss, and losing his line of thought.

"I took on a course-leader role last May and I was like a really slow computer which struggled to get going," he claims.

Dr. Retford once worked for the police, but he is currently unable to do so.

He explains, "If I overdo it now, I feel so exhausted."

Even though he might never fully recover, Dr. Retford is committed to keeping a good outlook.

"I'm still here, while thousands aren't," he claims.

"I've been taking long Covid for three years."

What long-term COVID symptoms are there?

alterations in the brain after mild COVID

In Nature Medicine, the Post-hospitalization Covid-19 research (PHosp-Covid) attributes brain fog to elevated levels of the protein fibrinogen and the protein fragment D-dimer.

The findings corroborate the theory that blood clots are the cause of post-Covid cognitive issues because both fibrinogen and D-dimer are involved in blood clotting, according to study author Dr. Max Taquet of Oxford University.

While D-dimer frequently reflects blood clots in the lungs and the issues in the brain may be caused by a lack of oxygen, fibrinogen may be directly affecting the brain and its blood arteries.