Key Points:
- COVID-19 activates the same inflammatory response in the brain as Parkinson’s disease.
- Inhibitory drugs in a clinical trial with Parkinson’s patients appeared to block the inflammatory pathway when activated by SARS-CoV-2.
- While the connection is concerning, researchers say a possible treatment could work for COVID-19 as well as neurodegenerative diseases.
A study led by researchers at the University of Queensland has found COVID-19 activates the same inflammatory response in the brain as Parkinson’s disease. While the results have identified a potential future risk for neurodegenerative conditions in people who’ve had COVID-19, they also indicate a possible treatment.
For the study, published in Molecular Psychiatry, the research team grew human microglia in the laboratory and infected the cells with SARS-CoV-2. They found that the cells then activated the inflammasomes—the same pathway that Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s proteins activate in disease.
Postdoctoral research fellow Eduardo Albornoz Balmaceda, from UQ’s School of Biomedical Sciences, said triggering the inflammasome pathway sparked a “fire” in the brain, which begins a chronic and sustained process of killing off neurons. The researchers found that the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 was enough to kick off the process. Additionally, the process was further exacerbated when there were already proteins in the brain linked to Parkinson’s.
“If someone is already pre-disposed to Parkinson’s, having COVID-19 could be like pouring more fuel on that ‘fire’ in the brain,” said UQ professorial fellow Trent Woodruff. “The same would apply for a predisposition for Alzheimer’s and other dementias that have been linked to inflammasomes.”
The researchers didn’t stop there, though. Their continued work resulted in a potential treatment.
When they administered a class of UQ-developed inhibitory drugs that are currently in clinical trials with Parkinson’s patients, the drugs successfully blocked the inflammatory pathway activated by COVID-19 in both mice and the human-derived microglia cells.
Woodruff said while the similarities between how COVID-19 and dementia diseases affect the brain are concerning, it also means a possible treatment is within reach.
“Further research is needed, but this is potentially a new approach to treating a virus that could otherwise have untold long-term health ramifications,” concluded Woodruff.
Information provided by UQ.