Brain & Memory Healthy Living Articles Immune & Autoimmune

Flu Might Change How the Brain Functions, New Study Shows

Don Colbert, MD March 7, 2018

A recent new study shows certain flu strains can affect how the brain functions, even long after the body has recovered.

The evidence comes from a study released the Journal of Neuroscience conducted to observe any possible lingering effects of influenza on the brain.

The Study: Mice Tested After Flu Strain Infection

The researchers infected mice with three different influenza strains:

H1N1, the strain from the swine flu pandemic in 2009
H7N7, the Avian Influenza virus
H3N2, the deadly strain of the 2018 flu season, which has killed more than 80 children since October 2017

After the mice recovered from their infections, the researchers put them to a test.

Using the Morris Water Maze (MWM)—a test where mice have to navigate around a swimming area to find a platform below the water—researchers measured memory and spatial learning by how quickly the mice found the platform and the methods they used to find it.

Much of this type of memory and learning, as well as emotions, occurs in an area of the brain called the hippocampus.

The Results: Brain Functions Affected in Hippocampus

Here’s what the researchers found:

Up to 30 days after infection, mice with the H3N2 or H7N7 strain had more difficulty than usual finding the hidden platform. This indicated neurological damage to the hippocampus area of their brains.
For some of these mice, the damage was present for up to 60 days.

Martin Korte, one of the lead researchers and neurobiologist at Braunschweig University of Technology, told Yahoo Lifestyle in their article that based on the research, flu’s effects on the brain could last for around 30 days in young adults and may indicate lasting mild cognitive impairment in the older population.

“In terms of single brain neurons and immune cells in the brain, humans and mice are very much alike,” Korts said in the article. “So, overall, we believe that the cognitive defects we observed in young mice are also very relevant for humans.”

At the same time, Korte says these after effects of the flu didn’t demonstrate serious Alzheimer’s-like symptoms in the young mice.

The case could be different for older mice and older humans because the initial immune response lasted longer and was stronger in the old mice. More studies are needed to observe the strain’s effect on older human populations.

So what action can we take from this knowledge in regards to this season’s flu and its possible cognitive aftermath? Korte gave this advice to Yahoo Lifestyle:

Get vaccinated to reduce the initial response of the virus. (Three out of four children who died from this season’s strain were unvaccinated, according to CNN.)
If you do come down with the virus, wash your hands and take plenty of time at home to recover.
Younger people who contract the virus should limit or be mindful of more intense brain activity, such as taking exams, in the 4-8 weeks post-infection.

The new findings are also a timely reminder that like the rest of our bodies, brain functions aren’t immune to infection—and how we treat brain health should be taken seriously.

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Don Colbert, MD

Don Colbert, MD, has been board-certified in family practice and in anti-aging and integrative medicine for more than 25 years. He is the medical director of the Divine Health Wellness Center, where he has treated more than 50,000 patients, and a New York Times bestselling author of books including The Seven Pillars of Health, What Would Jesus Eat?, Deadly Emotions and Keto Zone Diet, with more than ten million books sold. He hosts Dr. Colbert's Broadcast with his wife Mary and son Kyle, where faith meets functional medicine. He and Mary live in Orlando, Florida and Dallas, Texas.

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