James Throt MBBS, MD, PhD, FRCPath Profile picture
Jul 17 24 tweets 6 min read Read on X
Let’s talk about COVID, brain damage & society.

Specifically, what happens when a neurotropic virus repeatedly infects the population, targeting the frontal lobe & almost nobody talks about the consequences?

This thread is for the skeptics.

I’m a neurologist, stay with me 🧵 Image
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@Daithiunjabbed Studies that show SARS-CoV-2 causes disease:

nature.com/articles/s4159…

nature.com/articles/s4158…
@Daithiunjabbed Want a one-paper silver bullet that isolates, characterises & causes disease in one neat package?

That’s not how real science works. But you wouldn’t know this, being intellectually challenged.

It happens cumulatively, across multiple rigorous studies, all of which now exist.
@JN1171 The problem?

Our data systems weren’t built to track a slow, mass cognitive shift.

But the behavioural signal is there; clear, global, and exactly what you’d expect from repeat frontal lobe injury.
@SnoopDougieDoig What stands out is the sudden acceleration in things like youth violence, attention deficits, and empathy decline after the mass global spread of brain damaging SARS-CoV-2.

If phones were the root cause, we’d expect a more gradual, linear trend. Not this sharp, post 2020 curve.
@JjudgeThe77524 @JN1171 Image
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@JjudgeThe77524 @JN1171 Image
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@Kristy718028917 High spike antibody levels in the vaccinated = strong immune response.

That’s not the same as viral replication, tissue damage, or CNS invasion like actual covid causes.

Conflating immune signal with pathology is how misinformation spreads.
@cfd4441 @EmilyPetro22 If by ‘pushing that trash’ you mean correcting misinformation with evidence, then yes, I’m guilty. Sue me.

Sorry that facts feel like a personal attack.

Maybe sit with that.
@Kristy718028917 The spike from the vax is transient, localised, and degraded quickly.

SARS-CoV-2 infection, not vaccination, is strongly linked to lasting neurological damage, including direct invasion, inflammation, microclots & hypoxia.
@Kristy718028917 Comparing vaccine effects to viral brain injury ignores critical differences in mechanism & severity.

Spreading false equivalences like this fuels misinformation and fear rather than science-based understanding.
@rusty_ricochet The virus causes documented, widespread neurological harm.

The vaccine does not replicate, does not contain nucleocapsid protein, and has nowhere near the same pathological footprint.

You’re blaming the seatbelt for the car crash. And it’s f*cking tiresome.
@EvalEvan66 And as for “it’s not relevant in 2025”, the virus is still spreading, still crossing the blood-brain barrier, and still triggering neuroinflammation.

What’s changed is the willful ignorance.
@kristy_warrior @Kristy718028917 Most biodistribution data show spike production is transient, mostly in muscle & lymph nodes, and cleared fast.

Unlike the live virus, which replicates, crosses the BBB, causes inflammation, cell damage, and brain shrinkage.

This is boring now. Blocked.
@AJonSchultz @GVDBossche @VigilantFox The evidence overwhelmingly supports mRNA vaccine safety and efficacy.

Healthy skepticism is good, but it has to be based on data, not vibes, nor on farming for engagement.
Frontal lobe dysfunction shatters critical thinking.

That’s how you go from understanding public health to believing vaccines are more dangerous than the virus, every expert is lying, & your YouTube search counts as research.

Thank you for providing very convincing case studies
@AnnieMcnei41751 Persistent anosmia has been linked to increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s & Alzheimer’s.

Brain imaging shows structural loss in areas tied to memory, emotion, and executive function.
Credit for the olfactory cortex image goes to @DaniBeckman

Thank you for your work and for flagging the omission, a terrible oversight on my part.

My apologies.
@jamesrcole If you can’t grasp basic scientific concepts like probability versus determinism, maybe stop wasting time debating and educate yourself first.

This isn’t difficult, it’s fundamental to critical thinking.
@TepperHerb2025 In contrast, SARS-CoV-2 infection has extensive evidence of brain injury: grey matter loss (Douaud et al., 2022), neuroinvasion (Matschke et al., 2020), and long term neuropsychiatric effects.

Vaccination reduces these risks, your talking points ignore this entirely.
@ClareQ12 It’s plausible the virus had neuroinvasive properties, contributing to long term brain effects in survivors & possibly influencing post pandemic societal and health impacts.
@GG2763048772993 Long term, difficulties in forming healthy relationships, increased susceptibility to misinformation, challenges in educational achievement & greater risk for behavioral disorders. Early FL disruption may also predispose to mental health issues and diminished societal cohesion.
@NeurologistMom @DaniBeckman Those thousands of images are SARS-CoV-2 related. And when searching for appropriate ones for threads and Twitter posts, I’m clearly sometimes not selecting the correct screenshot/images. That’s my fault.

As I say, I’ve apologised.

Surely you saw I’ve since credited?

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More from @JamesThrot

Aug 15
The neurological toll of COVID is vastly underestimated

Brain scans can look “normal” while things too subtle for MRI detection; microvascular damage, neuroinflammation, and synaptic loss… quietly erode cognition, mood & behaviour

We are flying blind on the scale of impairment
MRI is a blunt tool for subtle brain injury.

It can’t resolve microvascular lesions, detect most neuroinflammation, or see lost synaptic connections.

Many COVID-related brain changes are chemical or cellular, leaving scans ‘normal’ while function is impaired.
We are likely undercounting COVID’s neurological impact by orders of magnitude.

If our main detection tools miss most of the injury, we mistake ‘no visible damage’ for ‘no damage at all’.

Hence policy stays blind to the real, long-term toll.
Read 5 tweets
Aug 14
A-level results are out in the UK. Record numbers of students got their first choice university place. Politicians call this a “success story.”

But how is this possible when SARS-CoV-2 has been repeatedly disrupting education and damaging brain health?

🧠🧵 Image
Let’s remember:

- Covid disrupts learning through illness, teacher absences, and long-term symptoms/chronic health.

- Many children have been infected multiple times (5-10 times already).

- Each infection increases the risk of ongoing symptoms and neurological effects. Image
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SARS-CoV-2 isn’t “just a cold.” It can:

- Damage blood vessels in the brain
- Trigger inflammation/neuroinflammation
- Shrink grey matter in regions linked to memory, attention, empathy and executive function
- Impair working memory and processing speed Image
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Read 11 tweets
Aug 13
Surging aggression. Language delays. Developmental issues. Teachers & parents report major changes in children

Lockdowns are often blamed. But many lockdowns were short (e.g. UK)

So what else changed in early childhood since 2020?

I’m a neurologist. Let's talk COVID & brains🧵
Let's be clear: lockdowns may have had an impact on some children, especially in unsafe homes or w/poor digital access. That shouldn't be denied.

But what we're seeing now goes far beyond what short-term isolation would explain, especially in children born after lockdowns ended.
Babies aren't socialised in their first 2-3 months to protect their fragile immune systems. Instead, they focus on bonding with caregivers.

So blaming lockdowns for behavioral issues in babies born during or after 2020 ignores the major factor: widespread infections in infancy. Image
Read 18 tweets
Aug 10
How Covid brain damage fuels social & political chaos in UK & USA 🧵

The UK & US face unprecedented strain on healthcare & social trust

Political discourse often scapegoats immigrants/minorities, ignoring a major driver:

The pandemic’s lasting & ongoing neurological toll

1/11 Image
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SARS-CoV-2 is neurotropic; it infects brain tissue, especially the frontal cortex, critical for empathy, impulse control, and decision-making.

Research shows repeat infections cause cumulative cognitive impairments & damage.

This inevitably erodes social reasoning.

2/
This slow-burning health crisis increases absenteeism, reduces workforce productivity, and overloads healthcare systems, all without obvious cause for most.

When people can’t see the virus causing this strain, they look for simpler explanations.

3/ Image
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Read 11 tweets
Aug 8
Surging aggression. Language delays. Dysregulation. Developmental issues. Teachers & parents are seeing major changes in children.

Lockdowns are often blamed. But UK lockdowns were short. So what else changed in early childhood since 2020?

Let’s talk about COVID. And brains. 🧵 Image
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Let’s be clear: lockdowns may have had an impact on some children, especially in unsafe homes or w/poor digital access. That shouldn’t be denied.

But what we’re seeing now goes far beyond what short-term isolation would explain, especially in children born after lockdowns ended.
Babies aren’t socialised in their first 2–3 months to protect their fragile immune systems. Instead, they focus on bonding with caregivers.

So blaming lockdowns for behavioral issues in babies born during or after 2020 ignores the major factor: widespread infections in infancy. Image
Read 14 tweets
Jul 30
🧵 Thread: Why don’t people take COVID seriously in Year 6 of the pandemic?

A virus that disables the immune system, damages the brain, heart, and vasculature.

And spreads like smoke.

Yet the world shrugs.

Why?

Because mass denial is doing what it always does.

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When a threat is chronic, invisible, and socially inconvenient, people don’t rationally evaluate it, they emotionally suppress it.

Denial becomes a survival mechanism. Especially in societies offering zero support for caution, it’s easier to numb out than face reality.

2/
This denial is socially rewarded.

If you mask, you’re weird.

If you talk about COVID, you’re exhausting.

If you stay home sick, you’re overreacting.

People protect their comfort and status by mirroring the crowd, even if the crowd is sleepwalking off a cliff.

3/
Read 21 tweets

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