• Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: “Brain fog” is a lingering condition for many COVID-19 long-haulers

Fatigue and what's being called "brain fog" are turning out to be some of the most common issues for long-hauler patients recovering from COVID-19. The National Institutes of Health calls these and other symptoms, which can last for several months, post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2, or PASC.

Those suffering from brain fog may experience short-term memory loss, confusion, difficulty concentrating, or just feeling different than they did before they had COVID-19, even if it was a mild case of the infection.

And Dr. Billie Schultz, a Mayo Clinic physical medicine and rehabilitation expert, says, though older patients more often to have these symptoms more often, younger people are also showing up with brain fog.

In this Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Schultz says brain fog seems to be more inflammatory than infection, but there are more questions than answers about this neurological concern. Meanwhile, efforts are underway to develop rehabilitation programs to help patients recover.

Watch: Dr. Schultz discusses "brain fog" and patients recovering from COVID-19.

Read the full transcript.

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For the safety of its patients, staff and visitors, Mayo Clinic has strict masking policies in place. Anyone shown without a mask was either recorded prior to COVID-19 or recorded in a nonpatient-care area where social distancing and other safety protocols were followed.

Information in this post was accurate at the time of its posting. Due to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific understanding, along with guidelines and recommendations, may have changed since the original publication date

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