Although the pathology of the respiratory system is the main impact of COVID-19, many patients manifest important neurological symptoms, such as anosmia, headaches, malaise, cognitive loss, epilepsy, ataxia and encephalopathy.
Using a mouse model susceptible to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection, a team of Spanish researchers has demonstrated the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to infect different regions of the brain and to cause brain damage, and how a vaccine developed at the National Biotechnology Centre in Spain fully protects against infection of the brain.
Lead researcher Juan García-Arriaza said: “The results obtained were spectacular, demonstrating that even the administration of a single dose of the MVA-CoV2-S vaccine completely prevents SARS-CoV-2 infection in all brain regions studied and it prevents associated brain damage, even after a reinfection with the virus.”
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