Ebola May
Leave Lasting Neurological Problems
Six months
after active illness, headaches, memory loss, and depression were still being
reported.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 24, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Many Ebola survivors have brain
symptoms that last long after other signs of the potentially fatal infection
are gone, a new study finds.
"While an end to the outbreak has been declared, these
survivors are still struggling with long-term problems," study author Dr.
Lauren Bowen, from the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders andStroke,
said in an American Academy of Neurology news release.
The research team checked the health of 82 Ebola survivors
in Liberia, one of three West African countries at the epicenter of the 2014
Ebola epidemic. Their average age was 35. At least six months after they were
first infected with the virus, most had some type of neurological issue. Common
problems included weakness, headache, memory
loss, depressed mood, muscle pain, tremors, abnormal eye movements
and irregular reflexes, the researchers said. Two of the survivors were suicidal and
one had hallucinations, according to the study.
"More than 28,600 people were infected with Ebola in West
Africa during the outbreak. Of that number, 11,300 died. We wanted to find out
more about possible continued long-term brain health problems for the more than
17,000 survivors of the infection," Bowen explained.
"It is important for us to know how this virus may continue
to affect thebrain long
term," she said.
The study is to be presented Wednesday at the American Academy
of Neurology's annual meeting in Vancouver, Canada. Findings presented at
meetings are generally viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed
journal.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Please insert your comments here