A new study from the UK suggests the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic could lead to a wave of brain damage in infected patients.
Experts at the University College London found COVID-19 could cause neurological complications including stroke, nerve damage, and brain inflammation.
According to CNN, such complications could arise even if the patients didn't show severe respiratory symptoms associated with the disease.
The virus that causes COVID-19 was not found in the patients' brain fluid, meaning the virus does not appear to directly attack the brain.
One theory is that the complications are indirectly triggered by an immune response from the patient's body -- not from the virus itself.
The researchers say follow-up studies will be necessary to understand the potential long-term neurological consequences of the pandemic.