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Israeli man diagnosed with Parkinson's disease after recovering from Covid-19

Last Updated 23 September 2020, 10:49 IST

As researchers still try to unravel the mysteries of the novel coronavirus, a 45-year-old male from Israel has shown signs of Parkinson’s disease after getting contracting Covid-19, a paper in The Lancet journal said.

Though Parkinson’s disease is known to follow viral infections like Influenza A, Hepatitis C, Japanese encephalitis or West Nile virus, this is the first case reported of a recovering Covid-19 patient showing signs of the disease.

The patient, an Ashkenazi Jew from Israel, tested positive for coronavirus through the RT-PCR test and was admitted to a hospital. His symptoms included dry cough, muscle pain and anosmia (loss of smell).

He was treated for mild asthma symptoms but did not require either oxygen supplement or mechanical ventilation as the disease did not progress.

Following his release from the hospital, he was quarantined for three weeks during which he developed symptoms like cramping of hands, tremors in his right hand and difficulty in talking.

These symptoms persisted even after he finished his quarantine.

Two months after testing Covid-19 positive, he visited a neurological facility for persisted symptoms. At this point, he also had reduced facial expression, soft speech cogwheel rigidity in the neck and right arm.

His blood tests showed no alterations. It also showed that his body had developed immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 even though the virus didn’t show up in his cerebrospinal fluid.

His condition worsened during the neurological treatment he was under for what was later confirmed as Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers believe that the crucial finding here is the loss of smell which is both a symptom of Covid-19 infection and a precursor to Parkinson’s disease.

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(Published 23 September 2020, 08:27 IST)

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