Long-COVID cognitive impairments and reproductive hormone deficits in men may stem from GnRH neuronal death.

ABSTRACT:

Background

We have recently demonstrated a causal link between loss of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), the master molecule regulating reproduction, and cognitive deficits during pathological aging, including Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. Olfactory and cognitive alterations, which persist in some COVID-19 patients, and long-term hypotestosteronaemia in SARS-CoV-2-infected men are also reminiscent of the consequences of deficient GnRH, suggesting that GnRH system neuroinvasion could underlie certain post-COVID symptoms and thus lead to accelerated or exacerbated cognitive decline.

Methods

We explored the hormonal profile of COVID-19 patients and targets of SARS-CoV-2 infection in post-mortem patient brains and human fetal tissue.

Findings

We found that p

SUBMITTER: Sauve F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10507138 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature