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Brain Scans of 24 People With Long COVID Reveal Signs of Injury to Dopamine Neurons : ScienceAlert (opens in a new tab)

sciencealert.com · 2026-10-04

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The source study was found, but the study's evidence could not be profiled, so these claims couldn't be checked.

Claim 1 of 5Not checkedA preliminary study in Canada of 24 people with long COVID found distinct changes in some brain regions compared with healthy participants of the same age.View evidenceHide evidence

As stated24 people with long COVID

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Claim 2 of 5Not checkedThe study found a reduction in the density of dopamine nerve endings in several regions of the striatum in the long COVID group compared with healthy controls.View evidenceHide evidence

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Claim 3 of 5Not checkedThe severity of some long COVID symptoms was correlated with dopamine-neuron marker loss, and the article says roughly 25 percent of symptom variance was associated with a loss of dopaminergic neurons.View evidenceHide evidence

As statedroughly 25 percent of the variance

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Claim 4 of 5Not checkedThe authors argue the findings suggest long COVID may be, at least in part, a disorder of the brain's dopamine system and that dopamine-targeting interventions could have therapeutic value, but the article notes this is preliminary and not yet tested in current trials.View evidenceHide evidence

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Claim 5 of 5Not checkedThe article notes the research was published in eBioMedicine and that the authors also point to a prior small autopsy study as context for the hypothesis.View evidenceHide evidence

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Crossref, PubMed, Europe PMC · 17 candidate papers

Candidate

Faculty Opinions recommendation of PET study examining pharmacokinetics, detection and likeability, and dopamine transporter receptor occupancy of short- and long-acting oral methylphenidate.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature · 2006 · Crossref

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And 11 more candidates considered.