Experiencing brain fog from long COVID? Two B.C. companies want to help
Global News
According to ABI Wellness, more than 63 per cent of patients who experience long COVID report at least mild brain fog several months after they test negative for the virus.
Two B.C.-based companies are offering a free, three-month rehabilitation program for British Columbians suffering from brain fog as a result of their long COVID.
According to ABI Wellness in Langley, three in 10 cases of COVID-19 become long-COVID, and 75 per cent include cognitive and neurological symptoms, such as brain fog. Brain fog can slow down one’s processing speed, memory and recall, impacting a person’s ability to perform daily tasks.
Long COVID can also lead to neuroinflammation, microhemorrhages, signs of lack of oxygen, and cell death, added Shaun Porter, neuroscientist and chief operating officer at ABI Wellness.
“The research is showing that long COVID is in fact a brain injury, and it is causing physiologically, very similar issues that people who have had concussion and stroke go through,” he told Global News.
In previous years, ABI Wellness specialized in supporting patients with impaired cognition due to strokes, concussions or other brain injuries and illnesses. When the pandemic began, however, Porter said they recognized a “pattern” in the symptoms of those patients, and those recovering from COVID-19.
They partnered up with a Vancouver-based clinic, Eaton Cognitive Health Optimization Systems (ECHOS), to deliver the free virtual cognitive coaching program. It aims to address symptoms including fatigue, poor concentration, lack of mental clarity, confusion, memory problems, and executive function.
“These exercises in particular are really targeting key neural networks that are impacted,” said Porter. “We’re really all about listening to the patients. We want to hear from them and make sure this program is fitting what their needs are.”
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, more than 100 different symptoms have been reported in association with long COVID. Relatively little is known about the condition, also known as post-COVID-19 condition, including how to diagnose it.
