A 67-year-old woman presented with the complaints of memory loss, difficulties in concentration especially during reading and cognitive fatigue after recent recovery from COVID-19 infection. The patient had a history of type 2 diabetes mellitus being managed with metformin. Her laboratory evaluation was normal except mild elevation of C-reactive protein. Her neuropsychological assessment revealed a verbal episodic memory deficit, FDG-PET and MRI showed no abnormalities. However, her CSF analysis showed decreased Aβ1-42 along with elevated tau and phospho-tau.
Results
a) Alzheimer’s disease
- Acute phase of COVID-19 is often associated with reduced ability to concentrate and other cognitive difficulties designated as brain fog. Patterns such as episodic memory deficit, preserved attention or failure to recover from proactive semantic interference are highly suggestive of Alzheimer’s pathology. The low benefit of semantic cues during episodic memory tests is a strong marker of alzheimer’s disease different from other types of memory dysfunction. A thorough assessment of patients reporting cognitive complaints after COVID-19 must be done.
a) Alzheimer’s disease
- Acute phase of COVID-19 is often associated with reduced ability to concentrate and other cognitive difficulties designated as brain fog. Patterns such as episodic memory deficit, preserved attention or failure to recover from proactive semantic interference are highly suggestive of Alzheimer’s pathology. The low benefit of semantic cues during episodic memory tests is a strong marker of alzheimer’s disease different from other types of memory dysfunction. A thorough assessment of patients reporting cognitive complaints after COVID-19 must be done.
