GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — If you've recovered from COVID-19 and still feel like mentally you just can't function they way you used to you are not alone.
COVID Brain is now a recognized medical term for those with this long form COVID side effect. There's a study being conducted in Grand Rapids by Spectrum Health.
Dr. Michael Lawrence, a Clinical Neuropsychologist with Spectrum Health is heading up the study alongside researchers from Michigan State University with the purpose of understanding why some people get COVID Brain and some people don't.
"People describe things like memory loss, depression, sleep difficulties, and a lot of what they call fibro fog, kind of COVID fog, where you just feel foggy and out of it," said Dr. Lawrence.
Inflammation continues to be a dangerous condition caused by COVID-19 Dr. Lawrence hopes that this study will help to catch COVID Brain early before it becomes a long hauler side effect, "The idea is if we can identify biomarkers that lead to the inflammation, then we can catch this early and we can start treating symptoms before people are suffering from these symptoms for months at a time."
If you're interested in participating in the study Dr. Lawrence says they are still looking for participants.
"We're looking at individuals from ages 25 to 55 that have either recovered from COVID, or still reporting symptoms consistent with COVID. And these don't have to be individuals that have been hospitalized that have significant forms of COVID. But even individuals that were never hospitalized, but they're still struggling months after with some of the symptoms."
Learn more about the Spectrum Health MSU Brain Fog Study by calling (616) 391-3050 or emailing covid19research@spectrumhealth.org.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.