Nigerians experiencing COVID-debilitating disorders – Experts

Experts have reported that Nigerians are experiencing neurological manifestations of long COVID, called neuro-long COVID, which is known to be among the most debilitating effects of COVID, such as brain fog, mild cognitive impairment, fatigue, sleep problems, headaches, sensations of pins and needles, and muscle pain.

Published in the Journal of NeuroVirology, the research was carried out by a team of scientists from the University of Lagos and Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Lagos State, in collaboration with scientists at Northwestern University, United States.

Analysing 2,319 participants, they found that 106 (4.6%) had long COVID with neurologic symptoms, while some are still experiencing symptoms up to two years after their initial episode of COVID-19.

According to the researchers, long COVID, also called post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), affects millions of people worldwide. While the neurologic manifestations of PASC (Neuro-PASC) are among the most debilitating, they are largely unreported in Africa.

They also found that about 11.5 percent of patients hospitalised for COVID-19 pneumonia reported a higher frequency of long COVID symptoms, while 3.9 percent of patients who were not hospitalised and had mild initial COVID-19 experienced such symptoms.

The researchers concluded that there is a need for improved screening, diagnosis, and treatment of neuro-long COVID in Nigeria.

Dr. Igor Koralnik, Chief of Neuro-Infectious Disease and Global Neurology at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, said the research was carried out to demonstrate the need for diagnosis and clinical care for patients, as well as to advocate for specialised outpatient clinics.

He added that they were able to determine that, even in a resource-limited setting where people have many other problems to worry about, studies can still be conducted. Based on their acquired data, he hopes for some intervention to alleviate the suffering of those affected.

Koralnik said the group plans to treat brain fog and cognitive dysfunction in neuro-long COVID patients in Nigeria using the same techniques he and his team are currently employing in Chicago.

A breakdown of the predominant neurologic symptoms among study participants includes difficulty remembering/brain fog (59.4%), fatigue (55.7%), sleep problems (32%), headaches (31%), paresthesia or numbness and pins and needles (11.3%), and myalgia or muscle pain (9.4%).

The study made use of a widely used screening assessment known as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment for detecting cognitive impairment. Of the 66 participants with neuro-long COVID who underwent an in-person neurological evaluation and cognitive screening, 16.9 percent completed the screening and had results consistent with mild cognitive impairment.