Simply when medical consultants thought that they had already recognized all the signs of COVID-19, a brand new examine comes alongside, claiming that some sufferers undergo from a situation often known as “face blindness.”
The weird symptom that makes one unable to acknowledge acquainted faces, together with family members, is uncommon however alarming. Scientifically known as prosopagnosia, face blindness impairs the flexibility to discern one face from one other, in accordance with US Information & World Report.
Marie-Luise Kieseler, a researcher on the Dartmouth School Social Notion Lab in Hanover, New Hampshire, advised the outlet that the situation usually arises when there may be injury to the mind’s face-processing community following a stroke or head damage.
However Kieseler and her colleague, Brad Duchaine, have recognized the primary case of face blindness associated to COVID-19 an infection.
In a single case report printed in Cortex, the duo described the case of a 28-year-old girl named Annie, who contracted the novel coronavirus in March 2020.
Annie had a tough expertise when she contracted the virus, struggling a excessive fever, diarrhea, coughing spells and shortness of breath. She additionally fainted from lack of oxygen at instances. After three weeks, she recovered from the preliminary an infection solely to begin experiencing emotions of disorientation a number of weeks later. She additionally realized one thing was off when she couldn’t understand faces appropriately.
In June 2020, a surprising incident occurred when she determined to satisfy along with her household for dinner for the primary time since she battled the illness. On the restaurant, she walked proper previous her family members since she couldn’t acknowledge their faces.
When a person known as Annie’s identify, she turned to the acquainted voice solely to be shocked that it was from a face she couldn’t acknowledge. “It was as if my dad’s voice got here out of a stranger’s face,” she stated.
Upon analysis by the Dartmouth staff, all proof pointed to a deficit in face reminiscence processing. However along with prosopagnosia, Annie additionally had problem navigating once-familiar locations. She even has to depend on the Google Map pin operate to recollect the place she had parked her automobile.
“The mixture of prosopagnosia and navigational deficits that Annie had is one thing that caught our consideration as a result of the 2 deficits typically go hand in hand after anyone both has had mind injury or developmental deficits,” Duchaine stated, as per Every day Star.
“It has been recognized that there are broad cognitive issues that may be attributable to COVID-19, however right here we’re seeing extreme and extremely selective issues in Annie, and that implies there is perhaps numerous different individuals who have fairly extreme and selective deficits following COVID,” he added.
It’s unclear how a respiratory an infection might result in persistent neurological points for some individuals even after their bout with the illness. It’s additionally unknown if the problem improves or resolves by itself. Kieseler famous that there isn’t a remedy for prosopagnosia at current; sufferers study to compensate. In Annie’s case, she identifies her family members by their voices.
