A study by researchers at University College London described 43 cases of patients with Covid-19 who suffered either temporary brain dysfunction, strokes, nerve damage or other serious brain effects. AP
A study by researchers at University College London described 43 cases of patients with Covid-19 who suffered either temporary brain dysfunction, strokes, nerve damage or other serious brain effects. AP
A study by researchers at University College London described 43 cases of patients with Covid-19 who suffered either temporary brain dysfunction, strokes, nerve damage or other serious brain effects. AP
A study by researchers at University College London described 43 cases of patients with Covid-19 who suffered either temporary brain dysfunction, strokes, nerve damage or other serious brain effects.

Coronavirus: Scientists say a wave of brain damage could follow pandemic


  • English
  • Arabic

Scientists warned on Wednesday of a potential wave of coronavirus-related brain damage as new evidence suggested Covid-19 can lead to severe neurological complications, including inflammation, psychosis and delirium.

A study by researchers at University College London described 43 cases of patients with Covid-19 who suffered either temporary brain dysfunction, strokes, nerve damage or other serious brain effects.

The research adds to recent studies that also found the disease can damage the brain.

"Whether we will see an epidemic on a large scale of brain damage linked to the pandemic – perhaps similar to the encephalitis lethargica outbreak in the 1920s and 1930s after the 1918 influenza pandemic – remains to be seen," said Michael Zandi, from UCL's Institute of Neurology, one of the authors of the study.

Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, is largely a respiratory illness that affects the lungs, but neuroscientists and specialist brain doctors say emerging evidence of its impact on the brain is concerning.

  • Workers in personal protective equipment are seen alongside police patrols in Melbourne, Australia. Nine public housing towers are placed under lockdown, with a stay-at-home order announced for the whole city starting from Wednesday. Getty Images
    Workers in personal protective equipment are seen alongside police patrols in Melbourne, Australia. Nine public housing towers are placed under lockdown, with a stay-at-home order announced for the whole city starting from Wednesday. Getty Images
  • A woman looks out a window from a locked-down public housing tower in Melbourne. AP Photo
    A woman looks out a window from a locked-down public housing tower in Melbourne. AP Photo
  • People walk along the street before entering the area where stores are open, during the gradual reopening of commercial activities in in Mexico City. Reuters
    People walk along the street before entering the area where stores are open, during the gradual reopening of commercial activities in in Mexico City. Reuters
  • Grade 7 pupils of the Sitoromo Junior Secondary School in Sterkspruit, South Africa, sit in their classroom as a cook pours milk into a steaming dish of maize porridge. The school reopened only for Grade 7 pupils after being shut for two weeks because of a Covid-19 case found among its staff. AFP
    Grade 7 pupils of the Sitoromo Junior Secondary School in Sterkspruit, South Africa, sit in their classroom as a cook pours milk into a steaming dish of maize porridge. The school reopened only for Grade 7 pupils after being shut for two weeks because of a Covid-19 case found among its staff. AFP
  • Serbian army soldiers prepare a makeshift field hospital inside the Belgrade Arena. AFP
    Serbian army soldiers prepare a makeshift field hospital inside the Belgrade Arena. AFP
  • Workers in personal protective equipment in Melbourne, Australia. Getty Images
    Workers in personal protective equipment in Melbourne, Australia. Getty Images
  • People wearing face masks stand outside a high school as their wards write the annual national college entrance exam, which had been postponed by a month, in Beijing, China. Reuters
    People wearing face masks stand outside a high school as their wards write the annual national college entrance exam, which had been postponed by a month, in Beijing, China. Reuters
  • A visitor wearing a face mask takes a selfie in front of Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece "Mona Lisa" at the Louvre Museum in Paris, on the museum's reopening day. AFP
    A visitor wearing a face mask takes a selfie in front of Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece "Mona Lisa" at the Louvre Museum in Paris, on the museum's reopening day. AFP
  • Firefighters prepare to distribute food at a public housing tower in Melbourne, Australia. Reuters
    Firefighters prepare to distribute food at a public housing tower in Melbourne, Australia. Reuters
  • People eat lunch at a restaurant with plastic dividers between tables, as a preventative measure amid the Covid-19 pandemic in Sao Paulo, Brazil. AP Photo
    People eat lunch at a restaurant with plastic dividers between tables, as a preventative measure amid the Covid-19 pandemic in Sao Paulo, Brazil. AP Photo
  • Marcela Alvarez holds her birthday party in her home's balcony in Buenos Aires. AP Photo
    Marcela Alvarez holds her birthday party in her home's balcony in Buenos Aires. AP Photo
  • A health worker takes a nasal swab of a person for a Covid-19 test at a hospital in New Delhi, India. AP Photo
    A health worker takes a nasal swab of a person for a Covid-19 test at a hospital in New Delhi, India. AP Photo

"My worry is that we have millions of people with Covid-19 now. And if in a year's time we have 10 million recovered people, and those people have cognitive deficits ... then that's going to affect their ability to work and their ability to go about activities of daily living," Adrian Owen, a neuroscientist at Western University in Canada, said.

In the UCL study, published in the journal Brain, nine patients who had brain inflammation were diagnosed with a rare condition called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (Adem), which is more usually seen in children and can be triggered by viral infections.

The team said it would normally see about one adult patient with Adem per month at their specialist London clinic, but this had risen to at least one a week during the study period, something they described as "a concerning increase".

"Given that the disease has only been around for a matter of months, we might not yet know what long-term damage Covid-19 can cause," said Ross Paterson, who co-led the study. "Doctors need to be aware of possible neurological effects, as early diagnosis can improve patient outcomes."

Mr Owen said the emerging evidence underlined the need for large, detailed studies and global data collection to assess how common such neurological and psychiatric complications were.

He is running an international research project at covidbrainstudy.com where patients can sign up to complete a series of cognitive tests to see whether their brain functions have altered since getting Covid-19.

"This disease is affecting an enormous number of people," Mr Owen said. "That's why it's so important to collect this information now."

Tips for used car buyers
  • Choose cars with GCC specifications
  • Get a service history for cars less than five years old
  • Don’t go cheap on the inspection
  • Check for oil leaks
  • Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
  • Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
  • Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
  • Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
  • If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell

Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20DarDoc%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Samer%20Masri%2C%20Keswin%20Suresh%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%24800%2C000%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Flat6Labs%2C%20angel%20investors%20%2B%20Incubated%20by%20Hub71%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi's%20Department%20of%20Health%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2010%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO

Euro 2020 qualifier

Fixture: Liechtenstein v Italy, Tuesday, 10.45pm (UAE)

TV: Match is shown on BeIN Sports

PLAY-OFF%20DRAW
%3Cp%3EBarcelona%20%20v%20Manchester%20United%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EJuventus%20v%20Nantes%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ESporting%20Lisbon%20v%20Midtjylland%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EShakhtar%20Donetsk%20v%20Rennes%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EAjax%20v%20Union%20Berlin%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EBayer%20Leverkusen%20v%20Monaco%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ESevilla%20v%20PSV%20Eindhoven%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ESalzburg%20v%20Roma%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam
Marathon results

Men:

 1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13 

2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50 

3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25 

4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46 

5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48  

Women:

1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30 

2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01 

3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30 

4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43 

5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01  

The specs

Engine: 2.2-litre, turbodiesel

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Power: 160hp

Torque: 385Nm

Price: Dh116,900

On sale: now

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

The specs

Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors

Transmission: two-speed

Power: 671hp

Torque: 849Nm

Range: 456km

Price: from Dh437,900 

On sale: now

%3Cp%3EThe%20Punishment%20of%20Luxury%3Cbr%3EOMD%3Cbr%3E100%25%20Records%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Opening Rugby Championship fixtures:Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Sheikh Zayed's poem

When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.

Your love is ruling over my heart

Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it

Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home

You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness

Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins

You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge

You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm

Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you

You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it

Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by. 

Kill%20Bill%20Volume%201
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Quentin%20Tarantino%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Uma%20Thurman%2C%20David%20Carradine%20and%20Michael%20Madsen%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%204.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO

Karnataka Tuskers 110-5 (10 ovs)

Tharanga 48, Shafiq 34, Rampaul 2-16

Delhi Bulls 91-8 (10 ovs)

Mathews 31, Rimmington 3-28

Karnataka Tuskers win by 19 runs

UAE rugby in numbers

5 - Year sponsorship deal between Hesco and Jebel Ali Dragons

700 - Dubai Hurricanes had more than 700 playing members last season between their mini and youth, men's and women's teams

Dh600,000 - Dubai Exiles' budget for pitch and court hire next season, for their rugby, netball and cricket teams

Dh1.8m - Dubai Hurricanes' overall budget for next season

Dh2.8m - Dubai Exiles’ overall budget for next season

Company profile

Date started: Founded in May 2017 and operational since April 2018

Founders: co-founder and chief executive, Doaa Aref; Dr Rasha Rady, co-founder and chief operating officer.

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: Health-tech

Size: 22 employees

Funding: Seed funding 

Investors: Flat6labs, 500 Falcons, three angel investors

THE BIO

Bio Box

Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul

Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader

Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Favorite food: seafood

Favorite place to travel: Lebanon

Favorite movie: Braveheart

%E2%80%98FSO%20Safer%E2%80%99%20-%20a%20ticking%20bomb
%3Cp%3EThe%20%3Cem%3ESafer%3C%2Fem%3E%20has%20been%20moored%20off%20the%20Yemeni%20coast%20of%20Ras%20Issa%20since%201988.%3Cbr%3EThe%20Houthis%20have%20been%20blockading%20UN%20efforts%20to%20inspect%20and%20maintain%20the%20vessel%20since%202015%2C%20when%20the%20war%20between%20the%20group%20and%20the%20Yemen%20government%2C%20backed%20by%20the%20Saudi-led%20coalition%20began.%3Cbr%3ESince%20then%2C%20a%20handful%20of%20people%20acting%20as%20a%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ae%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D%26ved%3D2ahUKEwiw2OfUuKr4AhVBuKQKHTTzB7cQFnoECB4QAQ%26url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.thenationalnews.com%252Fworld%252Fmena%252Fyemen-s-floating-bomb-tanker-millions-kept-safe-by-skeleton-crew-1.1104713%26usg%3DAOvVaw0t9FPiRsx7zK7aEYgc65Ad%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3Eskeleton%20crew%3C%2Fa%3E%2C%20have%20performed%20rudimentary%20maintenance%20work%20to%20keep%20the%20%3Cem%3ESafer%3C%2Fem%3E%20intact.%3Cbr%3EThe%20%3Cem%3ESafer%3C%2Fem%3E%20is%20connected%20to%20a%20pipeline%20from%20the%20oil-rich%20city%20of%20Marib%2C%20and%20was%20once%20a%20hub%20for%20the%20storage%20and%20export%20of%20crude%20oil.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20%3Cem%3ESafer%3C%2Fem%3E%E2%80%99s%20environmental%20and%20humanitarian%20impact%20may%20extend%20well%20beyond%20Yemen%2C%20experts%20believe%2C%20into%20the%20surrounding%20waters%20of%20Saudi%20Arabia%2C%20Djibouti%20and%20Eritrea%2C%20impacting%20marine-life%20and%20vital%20infrastructure%20like%20desalination%20plans%20and%20fishing%20ports.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
LA LIGA FIXTURES

Friday (UAE kick-off times)

Levante v Real Mallorca (12am)

Leganes v Barcelona (4pm)

Real Betis v Valencia (7pm)

Granada v Atletico Madrid (9.30pm)

Sunday

Real Madrid v Real Sociedad (12am)

Espanyol v Getafe (3pm)

Osasuna v Athletic Bilbao (5pm)

Eibar v Alaves (7pm)

Villarreal v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)

Monday

Real Valladolid v Sevilla (12am)

 

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

Inside%20Out%202
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EKelsey%20Mann%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Amy%20Poehler%2C%20Maya%20Hawke%2C%20Ayo%20Edebiri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes. 
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com