We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

A small study, published in the journal Lancet Psychiatry, shows a link between COVID-19 and brain complications. Medical experts say the findings give an important snapshot of potential complications of the virus and highlights the need to investigate the possible effects of COVID-19 in the brain. But the study should still be viewed with caution, as it was a fairly small investigation and was based on doctors’ observations.

As a result, it is not possible to draw conclusions from the data about the prevalence of the complications highlighted in the study.

Benedict Michael, the lead author of the study from the University of Liverpool, said: “There have been growing reports of an association between COVID-19 infection and possible neurological or psychiatric complications, but until now these have typically been limited to studies of 10 patients or fewer.

“Ours is the first nationwide study of neurological complications associated with COVID-19, but it is important to note that it is focused on cases that are severe enough to require hospitalisation.”

The study reviewed 125 patients treated in UK hospitals during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, in April.

Authors of the research asked specialist doctors to report clinical details of COVID-19 patients, who were experiencing a range of neurological and psychiatric complications that were potentially linked to the disease.

The most common brain complication observed was a stroke, which was reported in 77 patients.

A further 39 patients showed signs of confusion or changes in behaviour reflecting an altered mental state, with seven of these having inflammation of the brain, medically termed encephalitis.

The remaining 23 patients with an altered mental state were diagnosed with psychiatric conditions, including psychosis, a dementia-like syndrome and mood disorders.

The study highlights the need to investigate the links between coronavirus and brain complications and to rule out the possibility that the illnesses were simply co-occurring with COVID-19 rather than caused by it.

FOLLOW EXPRESS.CO.UK FOR LIVE UPDATES.

BREAKING NEWS: INTU crisis: Shopping centre group faces administration – thousands of jobs at risk

11.43am update: Tui cancels all holidays to Florida until December

Holiday firm Tui has cancelled all holiday to Florida until December, following the introduction of new hygiene rules at the Walt Disney World Resort (WDWR), such as mandatory face coverings.

The travel firm said it made the decision because the regulations would “significantly impact the holiday experience” for its customers.

Customers are being offered a range of alternative options, including delaying their trip until next year or changing their destination – both with a booking incentive – or a full refund.

11.22am update: Really, Sadiq? Fury as TfL admits commuters AREN’T being fined if they don’t wear a mask

Sadiq Khan has come under fire for failing to enforce fines on London commuters who ignore the new rule requiring the public to wear face coverings on all public transport in England.

Transport for London (TfL) bosses have admitted they are not currently fining commuters who fail to adhere to the new Government guidelines.

But they insist 90 percent of its customers are wearing face coverings.

People have reacted furiously to the news, and claimed commuters are regularly not complying with the rules.

10.34am update: More than 500 prisoners infected with COVID-19

As of June 19, there were 510 people who had tested positive for coronavirus in English and Welsh prisons, after displaying symptoms of the virus.

Of those, 500 were in adult prisons and 10 in youth jails.

10.05am update: Russia reports lowest daily rise in cases since late April

Russia reported 6,800 new cases on Friday, the first daily rise below 7,000 since late April, taking its nationwide tally to 620,794.

The country’s coronavirus response centre said 176 people had died of the virus in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 8,781.

9.31am update: Tesco sales surge during the pandemic

Tesco sales have surged over the past three months, after rapidly expanding its online business amid increased demand for grocery deliveries in the face of coronavirus.

The supermarket group said group sales jumped by eight percent to £13.4 billion in the three months to May

It said this was particularly driven by a 48.5 percent jump in UK online sales for the period, with online sales soaring by more than 90 percent in May.

8.43am update: Bournemouth beach ‘should have been closed’, says local MP

Local MP Tobias Ellwood, speaking from Bournemouth beach, said: “This place was deluged and social distancing went out the window and that’s why a major incident was declared, because the local authority and indeed the police couldn’t cope.”

He told BBC Breakfast: “The beach should have been closed down, or at least shut down to prevent further people from entering it.

“We need to learn from this and recognise that if we’re going to be serious about tackling this pandemic then we need to be swifter in being able to provide support to local authorities who are unable to cope.”

8.31am update: Government urged to ‘be careful’ in setting air up air bridges between other countries

Dr David Nabarro has urged the Government to “be careful” in setting up air bridges between countries to restart international travel.

He told the BBC’s Today programme: “We’re right at this delicate phase where we can actually push this virus right down, suppress it, and get on with life and have a good life.

“But if we are just a little bit careless and we get one of these major what we call ‘spreader events’ where a lot of people get ill and then suddenly our health services get overwhelmed again, in the coming months or two we’re going to look at each other and feel really frustrated.

“So please when it comes to restarting international travel be careful. Make sure that these air bridge are between places with just about the same risk profile. Then it makes sense.

“But don’t be pushed into establishing air bridges that might then raise the risk of one or other country having a much higher level of disease.

“We would be very cross in two or three months’ time with ourselves if we don’t get this right.”

8.02am update: UK is set to relax quarantine measures for international travellers

The Government is working on a plan to relax its 14-day quarantine rule for international travellers with some countries where there is a lower risk of contracting coronavirus, Environment Secretary George Eustice has said.

He told the BBC: “I know that Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, is giving this a lot of consideration so that the quarantine provisions that we have got in place can perhaps start to be relaxed with certain countries where the risk is low.

“I don’t know exactly when further information will be announced but I know that it is something the government is working on.

“I know it is being considered.”

Source: Read Full Article