Cognitive Tests

 I lost an hour of my morning to cognitive tests - just for fun (and a baseline).

AARP has a battery of tests you can take. They're free, but you have to register. They save them and can be retaken monthly to monitor any changes. I've been part of a study on cognition since 2020 that randomly sends me a bunch of tests to do, but it never gives me a score. This one is nice because they tell you right away how well you did. One slip on your mousepad can cost you, though! 

Neither of my parents had signs of Alzheimers or dementia at all until after hitting 90, which bodes well for me, but it makes sense to me for everyone to check their cognitive health the way we keep tabs on our physical health. 

And we know Covid affects our brain health. Today many on social media are posting and re-posting this:

"If I were in a profession where my cognition was key to my continued employment, I'd wear a respirator everywhere. And I am, so I do."

More than a year ago Dr. Jim Jackson, author of Clearing the Fog, said, "It is hard to overestimate the impact of processing speed deficits. Unfortunately, these seem to be the primary difficulties we see in our Covid-19 long-haulers who can't think on their feet, can't respond to questions or request, and cannot 'keep up.'" Daniel Brittain Dugger took him to task today,

"When I get into a traffic accident, morons who do not read will be to blame. . . . This is not the first time we have observed a virus that depletes CD4 cells, it is persistent, there is an aversion to non-pharmaceutical interventions, vaccines are not protective, there is forward transmission, and a slowing in processing speed. It was known on September 28th, 2020 that SARS-CoV-2 depletes the CD4 compartment, as does HIV. The very next day, Kenneth Podell published a journal article you coudl have read instead of writing a book on brain fog. One can draw on the experience with an HIV/AIDS epidemic. . . . It did not take long to discover that the disease could attack the brain directly, which resulted in long-term cognitive impairment. Subsequently, HIV encephalopathy and AIDS dementia complex leading to long-term cognitive impairment were discovered. Based on the emerging literature, it is reasonable to hypothesize a somewhat similar scenario may unfold in relationship to Covid-19."

Also check out this website: You Have to Live Your Life. It's a collection of studies on Covid, but they're organized as a response to prompts like, "I got it and I'm fine," "Covid is mild now," and the ever popular, "What about the economy?"

ETA: more from Ziyad Al-Aly about the brain damaged caused from Covid was recently published in The Conversation and People, so that might be one way to get a larger audience paying attention to this problem. 

AND another study that found Covid affects the synaptic homeostasis - the balance of neurotransmitters that deliver messages through the synaptic gap between neurons. Jeez! Keep your brain alive with an N95!!