Covid-19 has accelerated the presence of “zombie or senescent cells” that naturally accumulate as the brain gets older, according to a University of Queensland in Australia.
But the researchers believe they have also found a way to reverse the concerning cellular process.
They have identified four drugs that can potentially reverse a cellular process triggered by Covid-19, which contributes to premature brain aging, reports Yahoo News.
This discovery holds promise for mitigating the long-term neurological effects of Covid-19 infection.
Senescent or ‘zombie’ cells naturally accumulate as the brain gets older. It is believed those who have had Covid are more likely to have the process of these cells appearing speed up.
“Senescent cells are known to drive tissue inflammation and degeneration, leaving patients exposed to cognitive impairments like brain fog and memory loss,” said University of Queensland’s Australia Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology researcher, Dr Julio Aguado.
“Zombie” cells were accelerated in a synthetic brain model which glows green, blue and yellow under a microscope.
Aguado confirmed that finding Covid as an accelerant for premature ageing prompted his team to try and find a solution, looking at possible resets to the biological brain clock.
The researchers used synthetic brain models which were “grown in a laboratory from human stem cells” to study how these negative impacts could be combatted, and turned to therapeutic solutions in an attempt to remove the ‘zombie’ cells.
Their team found four drugs that selectively removed the unwanted cells and subsequently decreased the chance of neurodegenerative symptoms while also rejuvenating the brain — navitoclax, ABT-737, fisetin and a cocktail of dasatinib plus quercetin (D+Q).
“More research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms at play, but this study marks a significant step forward in our knowledge of the intricate relationship between viral infections, ageing and neurological well-being,” Aguado said.
