Additional Evidence of Accelerated Aging: Accelerated Brain Age After Mild to Moderate COVID

The Spike Protein’s presence in the brain explains the mechanisms of the observed accelerated aging.

Brain Age Gap (BAG). A: BAG was significantly higher in the COVID-19 group compared to non-infected controls (p = 0.046). B: Accordingly, the proportion of individuals with accelerated BAG (BAG > 0) was significantly higher in the COVID-19 group (p < 0.001).

Early on during the course of the Pandemic, I hypothesized that the Spike Protein would cause accelerated aging in all those infected – regardless of acute infection severity. I proposed that this would occur due to the Spike Protein’s ability to induce significant inflammation and mitochondrial damage, coupled with its induction of cellular senescence.

A preprint was published March 7^th of this year (last week) demonstrating that this is precisely what happens in the brain. Subjects were studied that did not experience respiratory/organ failure, pneumonia or even breathlessness. What was found was that, on average, those who experienced mild to moderate COVID had a brain which had aged 2.65 years.

Cognitive decline is a common adverse effect of the Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19), particularly in the post-acute disease phase. The mechanisms of cognitive impairment after COVID-19 (COGVID) remain unclear, but neuroimaging studies provide evidence of brain changes, many that are associated with aging. Therefore, we calculated Brain Age Gap (BAG), which is the difference between brain age and chronological age, in a cohort of 25 mild to moderate COVID-19 survivors (did not experience breathlessness, pneumonia, or respiratory/organ failure) and 24 non-infected controls (mean age = 30 +/- 8) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). BAG was significantly higher in the COVID-19 group (F = 4.22, p = 0.046) by 2.65 years.

Accelerated brain age in young to early middle-aged adults after mild to moderate COVID-19 infection
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.03.05.24303816v1.full.pdf

The first theory the authors put forward is that, perhaps, the upregulated expression of ACE2 post-infection was to blame for the accelerated brain aging. This does not seem satisfactory. ACE2 upregulation can be beneficial to the brain. This seems like a deflection tactic to me.

Why?

Because the Spike Protein is found within the brain post-infection and almost certainly post-exposure.

In this study, we utilized mouse models and human post-mortem tissues to investigate the presence and distribution of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in the skull-meninges-brain axis. Our results revealed the accumulation of the spike protein in the skull marrow, brain meninges, and brain parenchyma. The injection of the spike protein alone caused cell death in the brain, highlighting a direct effect on brain tissue.

SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Accumulation in the Skull-Meninges-Brain Axis: Potential Implications for Long-Term Neurological Complications in post-COVID-19
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.04.535604v1

Then, the authors discuss the most likely mechanism for the observed accelerated aging. Inflammaging. One of the cornerstones of my Spike Accleratred Aging hypothesis.

COGVID may also result from accelerated aging due in part to chronic inflammation, or “inflammaging” . Inflammation is well-known to play a critical role in neurodegeneration. Patients with COVID-19 demonstrate post-infection upregulation of inflammatory biomarkers with the extent of the inflammatory response depending on disease severity. Research among middle-aged COVID-19 survivors has shown significant inflammation-related astrocytic damage and neural dysfunction regardless of disease severity. Inflammation after COVID-19 infection may also impair cognition via reduced serotonin levels. The prefrontal cortex is particularly vulnerable to inflammation due to its unique reliance on glutamate receptor/calcium mediated neurotransmission. The relationship between inflammation and BAG over time in mild and moderate COVID-19 requires further study.

Accelerated brain age in young to early middle-aged adults after mild to moderate COVID-19 infection
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.03.05.24303816v1.full.pdf

The evidence for the Spike Protein inducing systemic inflammation is ubiquitous.

I have repeatedly stated that any infection or exposure to the Spike Protein is dangerous. After all, you don’t feel cancer/atherosclerosis/Alzheimer’s etc. starting.

I will continue to work on discovering potential therapeutics to neutralize the damage caused by the Spike Protein and to neutralize the Spike Protein itself.

Thank you for your readership, dialog and support. My work is supported solely by you. And my appreciation and thanks are eternal. We will keep discovering and fighting.