ArticleRestorative neurology and neuroscience2021
Non-invasive brain microcurrent stimulation therapy of long-COVID-19 reduces vascular dysregulation and improves visual and cognitive impairment.
Article in Restorative neurology and neuroscience, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic review of interventions for mental health, cognition and psychological well-being in long COVID.BMJ mental health · 2024Pooled it
- Research evidence on the management of the cognitive impairment component of the post-COVID condition: a qualitative systematic review.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2024Pooled it
- Intervention modalities for brain fog caused by long-COVID: systematic review of the literature.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2024Pooled it
- Investigating the Neuroprotective Effects of Peripheral Nerve Microcurrent Stimulation in a Mouse Model of Parkinson's Disease.Brain & NeuroRehabilitation · 2026Article
- Economic burden of long COVID: macroeconomic, cost-of-illness and microeconomic impacts.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2025Review
- Methylphenidate for the Treatment of Post-COVID Cognitive Dysfunction (Brain Fog).Journal of medical cases · 2024Article
- Transcranial alternating current stimulation in affecting cognitive impairment in psychiatric disorders: a review.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2024Review
- Microcurrent therapy as the nonpharmacological new protocol against Alzheimer's disease.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2024Article
- Observational Study to Assesses the Efficacy and Safety of Microcurrent Therapy with a Portable Device in Patients Suffering from Chronic Back Pain, Skeletal System Pain, Fibromyalgia, Migraine or Depression.Medical devices (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Article
- Long COVID: Complications, Underlying Mechanisms, and Treatment Strategies.Archives of microbiology & immunology · 2023Article
- Psychological and Cognitive Effects of Long COVID: A Narrative Review Focusing on the Assessment and Rehabilitative Approach.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- Pathological Features and Neuroinflammatory Mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 in the Brain and Potential Therapeutic Approaches.Biomolecules · 2022Review
- The Pathobiology of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: The Case for Neuroglial Failure.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAn effective treatment is needed for long-COVID patients which suffer from symptoms of vision and/or cognition impairment such as impaired attention, memory, language comprehension, or fatigue.
objectiveBecause COVID-19infection causes reduced blood flow which may cause neuronal inactivation, we explored if neuromodulation with non-invasive brain stimulation using microcurrent (NIBS), known to enhance blood flow and neuronal synchronization, can reduce these symptoms.
methodsTwo female long-COVID patients were treated for 10-13 days with alternating current stimulation of the eyes and brain. While one patient (age 40) was infected with the SARS CoV-2 virus, the other (age 72) developed symptoms following AstraZeneca vaccination. Before and after therapy, cognition was assessed subjectively by interview and visual fields quantified using perimetry. One patient was also tested with a cognitive test battery and with a retinal dynamic vascular analyser (DVA), a surrogate marker of vascular dysregulation in the brain.
resultsIn both patients NIBS markedly improved cognition and partially reversed visual field loss within 3-4 days. Cognitive tests in one patient confirmed recovery of up to 40-60% in cognitive subfunctions with perimetry results showing stable and visual field recovery even during follow-up. DVA showed that NIBS reduced vascular dysregulation by normalizing vessel dynamics (dilation/constriction), with particularly noticeable changes in the peripheral veins and arteries.
conclusionsNIBS was effective in improving visual and cognitive deficits in two confirmed SARS-COV-2 patients. Because recovery of function was associated with restoration of vascular autoregulation, we propose that (i) hypometabolic, "silent" neurons are the likely biological cause of long-COVID associated visual and cognitive deficits, and (ii) reoxygenation of these "silent" neurons provides the basis for neural reactivation and neurological recovery. Controlled trials are now needed to confirm these observations.
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