New research shows COVID-19 doesn't just attack the lungs - across the world, medical professionals have noticed the coronavirus can cause serious neurological conditions.
When the pandemic struck the UK hard earlier this year, the prevalence of these strange conditions caused doctors to set up a monthly committee to coordinate their reports of brain disorders.
Research from Chicago shows one-third of COVID-19 patients hospitalised early in the pandemic are still suffering altered mental states from confusion to unresponsiveness.
Those with these symptoms were seven times more likely to die, needed three times as long in hospital and upon their discharge, just a third could perform routine tasks, reports The Telegraph.
Doctors back in the UK saw patients with no history of smoking or diabetes have powerful, life-changing strokes or episodes of psychosis.
"They had visual hallucinations, auditory hallucinations, agitation, running around and thinking that the police are coming for them and the nurses are poisoning them," neurologist Benedict Michael told The Telegraph.
COVID-19 also brought on brain swelling to the extent that some patients needed sections of their skull removed to combat the inflammation.
In one instance a man in Israel was hospitalised with the dry cough and loss of smell characteristic of COVID. After three days he was discharged, but he noticed something was drastically different.
His handwriting changed, he struggled to speak or write texts on his phone - he was diagnosed with Parkinson's at age 45. He had contracted COVID-19 just two months prior.
Why is this happening?
The jury is still out on why some COVID-19 patients develop such devastating neurological symptoms.
One theory is that the virus attacks the central nervous system - a clue for this was the symptom of a loss of smell. However, as patients began to recover their sense of smell, this would be unlikely if the relevant part of the brain had been damaged.
The second theory is the immune response to COVID-19 - in patients with neurological symptoms the immune response is often sky-high - but why this happens to some people and not others is still a mystery.
As for recovery, it's equally as mysterious. Some patients will make full recoveries while others are left with residual disability.
Neurologist Dr Hadi Manji says the brain conditions are not just limited to the elderly.
"This is occurring in all age groups. And if you sustain a brain injury in your 20s and 30s, you're likely to survive with [a] significant lifelong disability with limited opportunities for recovery."
Michael says as tragic as the pandemic is it presents a unique research opportunity.
"This is the first time we've had a pandemic on this scale, combined with the internet to connect us up to do studies globally, and the genetic and neuroimaging technology to understand it," he says.
"When the next inevitable pandemic comes, if we do the work collaboratively now, we will be much better placed to face it."
