New Delhi, 6/11: An international team of researchers has, in a new study, claimed that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, does not infect human brain cells, raising hopes that Covid-related damage to sense of smell may be more superficial than previously feared.
The study, published in the journal Cell, showed that the virus infects sustentacular cells — associated with structural support — but not olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs), which are responsible for initiating smell sensations, as thought earlier, the Guardian reported.
The study challenges previous research that suggested the Covid virus infects neurons in the membrane that lines the upper recesses of the nose. This membrane, called the olfactory mucosa which contains OSNs, is where the virus first lands when it is inhaled.
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