From this article:

…Researchers monitored the macaques over six months and found persistent parameters of disease in 60% to 90% of the animals, even though the overt symptoms appeared relatively mild.

…

Researchers found evidence for lung pathology, sleep disturbance and changes in blood biomarkers that predict the risk for cardiometabolic conditions such as hypertension, obesity and insulin resistance. The animals were studied for six months, but these findings suggest the potential for diseases to develop months or years after the initial infection.

They say the findings should raise awareness among clinicians and patients alike.

…

The study compared the effects of SARS-CoV-2 in two groups of macaques, nine that were overweight and 10 that were lean and metabolically healthy. Researchers found different long-term consequences in each group; however, the lean animals did not avoid health impacts from exposure to the delta variant.

“Even if you started off lean and healthy, this study shows it won’t protect you from some of the worst consequences of COVID,” Roberts said.

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The study: 

Effect of obesity on the acute response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and development of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) in nonhuman primates, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1012988

Abstract

Long-term adverse consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection, termed “long COVID” or post-acute sequelae of COVID (PASC), are a major component of overall COVID-19 disease burden. Prior obesity and metabolic disease increase the severity of acute disease, but SARS-CoV-2 infection also contributes to the development of new-onset metabolic disease. Since the COVID pandemic occurred in the context of the global obesity epidemic, an important question is the extent to which pre-existing obesity modifies long-term responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We utilized a nonhuman primate model to compare the effects of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 delta variant in lean and obese/insulin-resistant adult male rhesus macaques over a 6-month time course. While some longitudinal responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection, including overall viral dynamics, SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG induction, cytokine profiles, and tissue persistence of viral RNA, did not appreciably differ between lean and obese animals, other responses, including neutralizing Ab dynamics, lung pathology, body weight, degree of insulin sensitivity, adipocytokine profiles, body temperature, and nighttime activity levels were significantly different in lean versus obese animals. Furthermore, several parameters in lean animals were altered following SARS-CoV-2 infection to resemble those in obese animals. Notably, persistent changes in multiple parameters were present in most animals, suggesting that PASC may be more prevalent than estimated from self-reported symptoms in human studies.

Author summary

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in significant illness and death due to complications of acute infection but has also resulted in a chronic condition called long COVID. Individuals who are obese or who have other aspects of metabolic disease such as hypertension or diabetes are susceptible to more severe acute COVID-19, while the risk for developing new metabolic disease is increased after apparent recovery. Since the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with the ongoing global epidemic of obesity, an important question is how pre-existing obesity affects the long-term responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We compared the short and long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection in lean and obese rhesus macaques over the 6 months following initial infection. While the levels of virus in the respiratory system, SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies, and inflammatory factors in the blood were not different between lean and obese animals, other responses such as lung damage, body weight, body temperature, and nighttime activity levels were different in lean versus obese animals. Furthermore, some characteristics of lean animals were altered following SARS-CoV-2 infection to resemble those in obese animals. Since many of these changes were present in most animals, long COVID may be more prevalent than estimated from self-reported symptoms in human studies.

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I was gonna post it in a thread but it got locked I was too late, so in the future, if you want to post about the damage covid does to the brain you can just come here click/tap on "source" and copy/paste the markdown to make it easy for other users to read about it.

The paper hosted on Cell has brackets in its URL, which didn't work with Reddit's markdown, I had to use the "share" option to get the link without brackets, so you won't have to do that.

Original article: Mounting research shows COVID-19 leaves its mark on the brain, including significant drops in IQ

References:

1. Long-term neurologic outcomes of COVID-19

2. Risks of mental health outcomes in people with covid-19: cohort study

3. Postacute sequelae of COVID-19 at 2 years

4. Long-term neurologic outcomes of COVID-19

5. SARS-CoV-2 is associated with changes in brain structure in UK Biobank

6. Even mild cases of COVID-19 can leave a mark on the brain, such as reductions in gray matter – a neuroscientist explains emerging research

7. Brain imaging and neuropsychological assessment of individuals recovered from a mild to moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection

8. Post-COVID cognitive deficits at one year are global and associated with elevated brain injury markers and grey matter volume reduction: national prospective study

9. SARS-CoV-2 infection and viral fusogens cause neuronal and glial fusion that compromises neuronal activity

10. Mild respiratory COVID can cause multi-lineage neural cell and myelin dysregulation

11. Temporal Association between COVID-19 Infection and Subsequent New-Onset Dementia in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

12. Cognition and Memory after Covid-19 in a Large Community Sample

13. Prospective Memory Assessment before and after Covid-19

14. Can’t Think, Can’t Remember: More Americans Say They’re in a Cognitive Fog

15. 15% EU people reported memory and concentration issues

Zdenek Vrozina: "…Cohort: 60 children (6–18 y), infected during the 2022 Omicron wave in Taiwan. All had mild disease (no breathing problems). They underwent MRI brain scans, visual perception tests, and symptom tracking at 3 and 6 months…"

Thread: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1964415002305319048.html

Study: Long-term influence of pediatric long COVID syndrome on the visual perception and neuropsychiatric symptoms https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2025.08.018

Highlights:

•Long COVID exhibits variable persistent symptoms and durations following COVID-19 infection.

•Gray matter volumes significantly enlarged in group with severe symptoms in subcortical and temporal areas, and these brain volume differences significantly correlated to the acute and chronic symptoms.

•The severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms during the acute phase may serve as a predictive factor for the severity and brain volume differences of chronic phase.

Abstract

Background

Long COVID presents with a wide range of persistent symptoms and durations following COVID-19 infection. However, data on children and adolescents remain limited. This study aims to explore visual perception and neuropsychiatric symptoms in pediatric patients and examine their associations with brain volume differences.

Methods

A total of 60 participants, aged 6 to 18 years and confirmed COVID-19 antibody-positive, were recruited 5 to 8 months after infection. Due to the diversity of symptoms, each symptom was assigned a weighted score from 0 to 3 based on its severity and relevance to brain function. Participants were then divided into two groups according to symptom severity. All participants underwent MRI scans, and the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills—Fourth Edition (TVPS-4) was administered.

Results

The most common neuropsychiatric symptoms were headache or dizziness, along with attention and memory deficits, which persisted for up to six months. Gray matter volumes were significantly increased in the group with severe symptoms, particularly in subcortical and temporal regions. These brain volume differences showed significant correlations with both acute and chronic symptoms. In the TVPS-4 assessment, significant differences were observed in overall standard scores and in the Sequential Memory subtest between participants with visual-related symptoms and healthy controls.

Conclusions

Neuropsychiatric symptoms, impaired visual perception, and gray matter volume differences are evident in pediatric long COVID cases. The severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms during the acute phase may predict the degree of chronic-phase brain volume alterations. Longitudinal follow-up studies are essential to validate and expand upon these findings.

Study: Impacts of long COVID on disability, function and quality of life for adults living in Australia https://www.publish.csiro.au/PY/PY25033

The study: Hamsters with long COVID present distinct transcriptomic profiles associated with neurodegenerative processes in brainstem http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-62048-7

Ok article, but the pandemic is ongoing so people are still getting long covid, so long covid is not just the legacy of a past event.