AIIMS Delhi Reports First Case Of COVID-Induced Brain Nerve Damage

New Delhi: The first case of COVID-19-induced brain nerve damage in a child leading to blurred vision has been reported at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, India Today reported quoting Hindustan Times.

AIIMS doctors are reportedly preparing a report on the health condition of the 11-year-old. The draft of the report as per HT read: “We have found Covid-19 infection-induced Acute Demyelinating Syndrome (ADS) in an 11-year-old girl. This is the first case that has been reported in the paediatric age group.”

“This girl had come to us with a loss of vision. The MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) showed ADS, which is a new manifestation. However, we now know that the virus majorly affects the brain and the lungs. We plan to publish this case report since we have established that her condition was Covid-19 induced,” Dr Sheffali Gulati of the department of paediatrics at AIIMS was quoted as saying in the report.

ADS include health conditions that damage myelin, brain signals and affect neurological functions. The protective layer which covers the nerves is called myelin, the report said.

The health condition of the 11-year-old girl improved with immunotherapy, and she was discharged from the hospital after about 50 per cent of her vision was regained.

The report added that another COVID-19 positive person, a 13-year-old girl, is also undergoing treatment at AIIMS after she had complained of fever and encephalopathy (swelling of the brain). The doctors, however, are still trying to ascertain whether her condition was induced by Covid-19, the report added.